Normal values for swallow events during endoscopic evaluation of swallowing: a preliminary study

Area of Science:

• Swallowing physiology
• Clinical audiology
• Speech-language pathology

Background:

• Establishing normative data for flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) is crucial for accurate clinical assessment.
• Previous research has lacked comprehensive normative values for various bolus types and age groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish preliminary normative data for FEES in healthy young and older adults.
• To collect data on timing measures, swallowing outcomes, and physiologic events across different bolus types.
• To provide reference values for comparison with diverse populations and swallowing conditions.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 65 deidentified FEES videos from 163 healthy adults (young and old).
• Blinded raters assessed timing measures (time to whiteout, duration, total swallow time), safety, efficiency, and glottal response.
• Data collected for liquid (two volumes), pureed, and solid boluses.

Main Results:

• Preliminary means and quartiles were established for key FEES measures, including time to whiteout, swallows per bolus, glottal response, residue, and penetration-aspiration.
• Significant differences in swallowing parameters were observed between older and younger adult groups.
• Normative data were generated for various bolus types and consistencies.

Conclusions:

• This study offers a preliminary quantitative framework for FEES interpretation.
• The generated normative data serve as essential reference values for clinical practice and research.
• Further investigation is warranted to validate these findings and expand the normative database.