MASTICATION AND SWALLOWING IN PATIENTS WITH POSTIRRADIATION XEROSTOMIA

Purpose: Very little objective data has been reported on mastication a nd swallowing in xerostomic patients, which would substantiate presume d causal relationships between xerostomia and patient complaints, The purpose was to elucidate which components of mastication and swallowin g were abnormal, and most directly related to xerostomia, and which ap peared unaffected, Methods and Materials: A retrospective analysis of timing events in mastication and swallowing was done using videofluoro scopic data for 15 cancer patients with xerostomia, and 20 normal cont rols. Scintigraphy was also used to determine oropharyngeal residue af ter a water swallow, Cancer treatment modalities included radiation th erapy or chemoradiation therapy, Results: For barium liquid and paste substances, timing measures were equivalent for controls and patients, Xerostomic patients took 46% longer to masticate a shortbread cookie, and timing for the initiation of swallowing was shorter, but duration of swallowing appeared unaffected, Oral and pharyngeal residues follo wing the swallow were greater in the patient group, Conclusions: Xeros tomia primarily affected mastication and oral manipulation of a dry, a bsorbent food material, Increased oral and pharyngeal residues after a water swallow are ambiguously related to xerostomia, The initiation a nd duration of the pharyngeal swallow was not abnormal, (C) 1997 Elsev ier Science Inc.