Preliminary Exploration of Variations in Measures of Pharyngeal Area During Nonswallowing Tasks.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	Preliminary Exploration of Variations in Measures of Pharyngeal Area During Nonswallowing Tasks.
Authors:	Steele, Catriona M.^1,2,3 tri-swallowinglab@uhn.ca, Mancopes, Renata¹, Barrett, Emily¹, Panes, Vanessa¹, Peladeau-Pigeon, Melanie¹, Simmons, Michelle M.¹, Smaoui, Sana^1,2,4
Source:	Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research. Nov2024, Vol. 67 Issue 11, p4304-4313. 10p.
Subject Terms:	*Predictive tests, Pharynx physiology, Vowels, Task performance, Research funding, Computed tomography, Sex distribution, Descriptive statistics, Pharynx, Analysis of variance, Deglutition, Confidence intervals, Chin, Fluoroscopy, Reliability (Personality trait), Patient positioning
Abstract:	Purpose: Age- and disease-related changes in oropharyngeal anatomy and physiology may be identified through quantitative videofluoroscopic measures of pharyngeal area and dynamics. Pixel-based measures of nonconstricted pharyngeal area (PhAR) are typically taken during oral bolus hold tasks or on post-swallow rest frames. A recent study in 87 healthy adults reported mean post-swallow PhAR of 62%(C2-4)², (range: 25%-135%), and significantly larger PhAR in males. The fact that measures were taken after initial bolus swallows without controlling for the presence of subsequent clearing swallows was identified as a potential source of variation. A subset of study participants had completed a protocol including additional static nonswallowing tasks, enabling us to explore variability across those tasks, taking sex differences into account. Method: Videofluoroscopy still shots were analyzed for 20 healthy adults (10 males, 10 females, Mage = 26 years) in head-neutral position, chin-down and chin-up positions, a sustained /a/ vowel vocalization, and oral bolus hold tasks (1-cc, 5-cc). Trained raters used ImageJ software to measure PhAR in %(C2-4)² units. Measures were compared to previously reported mean postswallow PhAR for the same participants: (a) explorations of sex differences; (b) pairwise linear mixed-model analyses of variance (ANOVAs) of PhAR for each nonswallowing task versus postswallow measures, controlling for sex; and (c) a combined mixed-model ANOVA to confirm comparability of the subset of tasks showing no significant differences from postswallow measures in Step 2. Results: Overall, PhAR measures were significantly larger in male participants; however, most pairwise task comparisons did not differ by sex. No significant differences from postswallow measures were seen for 5-cc bolus hold, chin-down and chin-up postures, and the second (but not the first) of two repeated head neutral still shots. PhAR during a 5-cc bolus hold was most similar to postswallow measures: mean ± standard deviation of 51 ± 13%(C2-4)² in females and 64 ± 16%(C2-4)² in males. Conclusions: PhAR is larger in men than in women. Oral bolus hold tasks with a 5-cc liquid bolus yield similar measures to those obtained from postswallow rest frames. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Education Research Complete

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Abstract:	Purpose: Age- and disease-related changes in oropharyngeal anatomy and physiology may be identified through quantitative videofluoroscopic measures of pharyngeal area and dynamics. Pixel-based measures of nonconstricted pharyngeal area (PhAR) are typically taken during oral bolus hold tasks or on post-swallow rest frames. A recent study in 87 healthy adults reported mean post-swallow PhAR of 62%(C2-4)², (range: 25%-135%), and significantly larger PhAR in males. The fact that measures were taken after initial bolus swallows without controlling for the presence of subsequent clearing swallows was identified as a potential source of variation. A subset of study participants had completed a protocol including additional static nonswallowing tasks, enabling us to explore variability across those tasks, taking sex differences into account. Method: Videofluoroscopy still shots were analyzed for 20 healthy adults (10 males, 10 females, Mage = 26 years) in head-neutral position, chin-down and chin-up positions, a sustained /a/ vowel vocalization, and oral bolus hold tasks (1-cc, 5-cc). Trained raters used ImageJ software to measure PhAR in %(C2-4)² units. Measures were compared to previously reported mean postswallow PhAR for the same participants: (a) explorations of sex differences; (b) pairwise linear mixed-model analyses of variance (ANOVAs) of PhAR for each nonswallowing task versus postswallow measures, controlling for sex; and (c) a combined mixed-model ANOVA to confirm comparability of the subset of tasks showing no significant differences from postswallow measures in Step 2. Results: Overall, PhAR measures were significantly larger in male participants; however, most pairwise task comparisons did not differ by sex. No significant differences from postswallow measures were seen for 5-cc bolus hold, chin-down and chin-up postures, and the second (but not the first) of two repeated head neutral still shots. PhAR during a 5-cc bolus hold was most similar to postswallow measures: mean ± standard deviation of 51 ± 13%(C2-4)² in females and 64 ± 16%(C2-4)² in males. Conclusions: PhAR is larger in men than in women. Oral bolus hold tasks with a 5-cc liquid bolus yield similar measures to those obtained from postswallow rest frames. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	10924388
DOI:	10.1044/2024_JSLHR-24-00418