In Vivo Behavior of Transitional Foods as Compared to Purees: A Videofluoroscopic Analysis

Medically tailored transitional foods (TFs) may be a clinically viable alternative to pureed consistency for individuals requiring texture-modified foods. However, little remains known about the performance of TFs during the swallow. The purpose of this investigation was to describe oropharyngeal swallowing physiology in patients with dysphagia during consumption of TFs as compared to pureed solids.

Retrospective chart reviews were conducted on 31 long-term acute care hospital inpatients (23 males; M_age = 57.5 years), who all had a primary medical diagnosis of acute respiratory failure. All patients received a videofluoroscopic swallow study that included both pureed and transitional solid (Savorease Therapeutic Foods) trials. Swallow function was assessed and described following the Modified Barium Swallow Impairment Profile (MBSImP) interpretation approach.

No statistically significant differences in scores were observed between pureed and transitional solids for any of the MBSImP component scores. Similarly, no statistically significant differences were observed in overall oral or pharyngeal composite scores. Although a majority of the individual patients performed similarly on both consistencies across the components scores, there was some variability across a few scores, with a subset of patients performing better with transitional solids for oral and pharyngeal residue and a subset of patients performing better with pureed solids for bolus preparation and initiation of the pharyngeal swallow. No instances of airway invasion were present across any of the solids trialed.

The findings of this pilot study revealed that high-dissolving transitional solids did not increase apparent risk as compared to pureed textures, as there were no significant differences in swallowing safety and only some differences were observed in performance between the two textures. These findings may support the use of transitional solids as a "bridge" and safe consistency to facilitate progression to higher, more challenging textures in medically complex persons with dysphagia based on individual performance. This work represents an important initial step toward the integration of transitional solids into evaluation protocols, texture recommendations, and, potentially, into treatment.