Speech and Language Therapy

Rebekah TraynorInpatient and Community, Rugby St Cross

Charlotte Courtney and Emily DaviesUHCW Speech and Language Therapy

A few facts about a normal swallow

swallowing is a sequence not a reflex you swallow your saliva 1000 times a day a gag reflex is not an indicator of dysphagia pooling can be normal up to 2 swallows to clear is normal variable no. of chews depending on consistency

Prevalence of Dysphagia and Communication difficulties Stroke – 30-40% of conscious individuals have

significant dysphagia on day of stroke and 15-20% one week post (RCSLT 2005)

20-30% of stroke survivors experience Aphasia. Dementia – bronchophneumonia was leading

cause of death in Alzheimer's disease; 28.6% in this study were found to be aspirating (Horner et al. 1994)

Definitions – 5 D’s Dysphagia - Difficulty transporting food/liquid/saliva from mouth to

stomach. Dysphonia – alteration in voice due to abnormal pitch, loudness

and/or quality resulting from disordered laryngeal, respiratory or vocal tract functioning.

Dysarthria – neuromuscular speech disorder which result from paralysis, weakness or inco-ordination of speech muscles.

Dyspraxia – impaired ability to carry out volitional movements – disorder of motor programming.

Dysphasia – Disorder of language processing – can affect speech, comprehension of speech, reading and writing.

Anatomy of the Swallow

Tongue

Hard palate

Lips

Teeth

Soft palate

Epiglottis

Trachea

Oesophagus

Dysphagia Difficulty transporting food/liquid/saliva

from mouth to stomach. Oral preparatory stage: recognition, lip seal,

chewing, taste. Oral stage: initiated when tongue manipulates

bolus. Bolus propelled to pharynx (1-11/2 sec) Pharyngeal – soft palate elevates, tongue base

retracts and pharynx wall constricts, Larynx prepares for closure, cricopharyngeal sphincter relaxes. (1 sec)

Oesophageal – food passes into oesophagus and carried by peristalsis into the stomach

Symptoms of Oropharyngeal Dysphagia Aspiration: ‘Entry of material into the airway,

below the true vocal folds’ Penetration: entry of material into the larynx at

some level down to but not below the vocal folds Residue: material left behind in the mouth or

pharynx after the swallow Reflux (backflow): material from the

oesophagus into the pharynx or nasal cavity. Silent aspiration – 40% of patients, who

consistently aspirate on Videofluroscopy, show no signs of doing so at bedside examination (Splaingard 1988)

Our assessment options

Videofluroscopy Fiberoptic Endoscopic evaluation of swallow –

FEEs EMG traces Bedside Swallowing Assessment

Fiberoptic Endoscpoic evaluation of swallowing and Videofluoroscopy

Allows a view of the structures and tissues in the pharynx/ larynx and a moving image of the swallow

Can be carried out at the bedside Can be used for multiple trials of

food and drink, even a whole meal.

Gives a moving X-Ray image of the Gives a moving X-Ray image of the swallowswallowAnatomical structures and their Anatomical structures and their movement during the swallow can be movement during the swallow can be seenseenAble to view of all stages of swallow Able to view of all stages of swallow Allows for differentiation of Allows for differentiation of penetration and aspiration of bolus. penetration and aspiration of bolus. Only able to see a limited number of Only able to see a limited number of swallows due to radiation exposure swallows due to radiation exposure timestimes

Bedside assessment State

Alert levels Positioning Compliance Interaction Fatigue Control of secretions Oral Intake -

Malnourishment

Oro-motor assessment Oral dyspraxia Dysarthria – highest predictor

of oral stage dysphagia compared to facial weakness or reduced oral sensation (Logemann 1999)

Facial weakness Dysphonia – absence of

voice can indicate inability to adduct vocal folds, needed for cough reflex, therefore reducing airway protection (Atkinson & McHanwell 2002)

Bedside assessment Swallowing assessment

Anticipatory behaviour Manipulation of bolus Initiation of swallow Suspension of breathing Cough/throat clearing Number of swallows to clear Cervical auscultation Vocal changes Residue Changes in O2 saturation - >2% below baseline

(Smith 2000)

Aspiration can not be predicted from any one sign or symptom

from clinical examination (ECRI 1999)

It’s not just about coughing/choking

Outcome

Level of risk based on above signs of penetration/aspiration.

Mild Moderate Severe Recommendations:

Texture Modification e.g. thickened fluidsSwallowing Therapy/ Manoeuvres /Postural

changesNBM and alternative feeding

Thickened FluidsStage IDescriptionForms a thin coat on the back of a spoonCan be drunk from a cupCan be drunk through a straw

Stage IIDescriptionForms a thick coat on the back of a spoonCan be drunk from a cupCan not be drunk through a straw

Diet

Puree diet (Texture C) Soft Moist Diet (texture E) Normal diet

Can be with or without bread

Signs of aspiration

Acute – as seen previously Chronic

Weight lossRefusal of foodRecurrent chest infectionsExcess oral secretionsAvoidance of food textures

Complications of dysphagia

Aspiration Pneumonia Malnutrition Dehydration

All the above are preventable

Predictors of Aspiration PneumoniaCurrently completing research at UHCW

Dependence of feeding – best single predictor of pneumonia

Dependence of oral care Number of decayed teeth Tube feeding More than one medical diagnosis Number of medications SmokingLangmore 1998

Please remember ……

Include the patients recommendations on the discharge letter – stage of fluid and type of diet, there is no such thing as stage 2 diet!!

Put thickener on the TTO’s so the patient can get it on prescription once home

Communication

The forgotten Role

On discharge from hospital Mr X can walk to the shop but can’t

ask for the loaf of bread he wants.

What do you need to communicate? You need to understand what is being said

You need to have a means of expressing your thoughts

Opportunities

Back to Basics...

Communication

Social/Pragmatic•appropriateness of content•staying on topic•taking turns, listening•inferring intended meaning

Language•understanding•finding words•ordering the sounds, and words in a sentence

Reading and writing

Non-verbal communication•eye contact•gesture•posture•facial expressionSpeech• clarity• rate

Voice•volume•pitch•intonation

Types of communication difficulties

Aphasia (dysphasia) - breakdown of the language centres in the brain and can cause difficulty speaking, writing, reading and using numbers. Expressive aphasia Receptive aphasia Global aphasia

Dysarthria – muscle weakness causing slurred speech

Dyspraxia – difficulty programming the sounds in a word

How do these difficulties affect communication? No speech Reduced understanding of language Producing the wrong word Difficulty finding the word Incorrectly saying sounds in words Jumbled speech Reduced awareness of speech Reduced clarity

What does this mean for the individual? Social isolation Reduced confidence Limited opportunities to talk to people Depression Strong emotional reactions – anger Increased dependency

What you can do

If you’ve met one person with aphasia……

You have met one person with Aphasia

Capacity

Dysphasia does not imply mental incapacity. People with aphasia can make informed decisions given the right support to understand and express their opinions.

Ten top tips Use pen and paper Draw diagrams or pictures Say one thing at a time Don’t rush – slow down and be patient Write key words Always recap to check you both have understood Relax – be natural Ask what helps Reduce background noise Don’t pretend to understand

Your team at UHCW

There are 3.4 wte neuro based speech therapists to cover the whole hospital

There is 1.6 wte head and neck SLTs that cover ward 32 and head and neck out patients

We work from 8am - 4pm Our guidelines state We see stroke patients in 24 hours of referral We see all other Dysphaiga in 48 hours of referral We see communication patients in 5 working days

References ECRI Report (1999) Diagnosis and Treatment of Swallowing

Disorders (Dysphagia) in Acute-Care Stroke Patients. Evidence Report/Technology Assessment No. 8. (Prepared by ECRI Evidence-based Practice Center under Contract No. 290-97-0020.) AHCPR Publication No. 99-E024. Rockville, MD: Agency for Health Care Policy and Research.

Horner , J., Alberts, MJ, Davison, D., cook, GM. Swallowing in Alzheimer’s disease in Alzheimer’s Disease and associated disorders, 1994.

Langmore, S., Terpenning, M., Schork, A., Chen, Y., Murray, J., Lopatin, D., Loesche, W. (1998) Predictors of aspiration pneumonia: How important is Dysphagia? Dysphagia, 13, 69-81

RCSLT (2005). Clinical Guidelines. Bichester. Speechmark