[An oropharyngeal-esophageal scintigraphic study of deglutition]

The aim of the present work was to evaluate whether oro-pharyngeal-esophageal scintigraphy could be used in the dynamic study of the various phases of deglutition and to determine whether it could be applied in otorhinolaryngological practice along with videofluoroscopy and videoendoscopy. The patients were divided into four different groups according to clinical features and the scintigraphic data were analyzed on this basis. Emphasis is placed on the ease of this technique, its tolerability and the low level of radiation. It is pointed out that scintigraphy is quite useful in determinating the exact percentage of the bolus inhaled into the trachealbronchial branch and in measuring the transit time of the various phases of deglutition in detail. In patients affected by upper airway-digestive tract neoplasms it is, therefore, possible to make a semiquantitative evaluation of the results of surgery. Moreover, with this method the results of any rehabilitation can be measured as well as the onset of compensation mechanisms.