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Pharyngeal residue across the lifespan: a first look at what's normal
A M Kelly1, K Macfarlane, K Ghufoor
1Head and Neck Centre, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK. annette.kelly@uclh.nhs.uk
Objectives:
Without good evidence, post-swallow pharyngeal residue is considered abnormal. Our aim was to document residue from normal food and fluid boluses in young and elderly healthy populations.
Design:
Prospective, single-blind assessment of residue severity from Fibreoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing.
Setting:
Tertiary specialist ENT teaching hospital.
Participants:
Fifty-one healthy participants; twenty-one aged <40 and thirty aged 65+. Each swallowed six representative boluses.
Outcomes:
Two teams independently rated pharyngeal residue severity at 11 anatomical sites.
Results:
The mean residue scores were less than 1 when averaged across all boluses and anatomic sites. Differences due to age were slight.
Conclusions:
Our preliminary data indicate that substantial pharyngeal residue is not common in young or elderly, and probably indicates disordered swallowing.
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