Effects of Dysphagia Therapy on Swallowing Dysfunction after Total Thyroidectomy

Swallowing disorder or dysphagia is a common complication after conventional total thyroidectomy. Traditional dysphagia therapy (TDT) has long been a routine rehabilitation program for patients with dysphagia; however, there is no evidence to support the efficacy of this approach in patients with post-thyroidectomy dysphagia. Regarding this, the purpose of the current study was to explore the effectiveness of TDT in swallowing dysfunction in patients suffering from post-thyroidectomy dysphagia.

This pilot clinical trial was conducted on 21 patients with post-thyroidectomy dysphagia. The study population was randomly assigned into two groups of TDT and control. The patients in the TDT group received 18 treatment sessions for 6 weeks, 3 times a week. The Swallowing Impairment Score (SIS-6), Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS), and Persian Dysphagia Handicap Index (P-DHI) were the outcome measures. The outcome variables were assessed at the baseline, at the end of the treatment, and after a 6-week follow-up. The main effects of time and group and their interaction effect on SIS-6 and P-DHI scores were examined using repeated measures ANOVA. In addition, the intergroup comparison in terms of the FOIS score was analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test. The Cohen's d effect size was also measured to ascertain the effects of the treatment.

According to the results, the TDT group showed a significant improvement in the SIS-6, FOIS and P-DHI scores over time (P<0.001). The results also revealed that the interaction effect of time and group was significant on SIS-6 and P-DHI scores (P<0.001). In addition, effect sizes on SIS-6, FOIS, and P-DHI scores were large in the TDT group.

This study suggested that TDT could improve the swallowing dysfunction in the patients suffering from post-thyroidectomy dysphagia. As the results indicated, the improvements persisted 6 weeks after the end of TDT.