Elsevier

Respiratory Medicine

Volume 117, August 2016, Pages 54-64
Respiratory Medicine

Review article
Swallowing function and chronic respiratory diseases: Systematic review

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmed.2016.05.024Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Update the review of the relationship between chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and oropharyngeal dysphagia.

  • Study the relationship between other chronic respiratory diseases (CRD) and oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD).

  • Compare the methods used to screen or to define the CRD and OD in order to explain the differences found between the articles.

Abstract

Background

The precise coordination between breathing and swallowing is an important mechanism to prevent pulmonary aspiration. Factors that alter breathing patterns and ventilation, such as chronic respiratory diseases, may influence that precise coordination of breathing and swallowing.

Purpose

The purpose of this systematic literature review is to examine the effects of chronic respiratory diseases on swallowing function.

Method

Literature searches were performed using the electronic databases PubMed and Embase. All articles meeting the eligibility criteria up to March 2016 were included.

Results

All articles included studied Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (COPD) or Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA); no studies involving other respiratory diseases were found. A total of 1069 abstracts were retrieved, of which twenty-six studies met the inclusion criteria; eleven studies dealt with OSA and fifteen studies dealt with COPD.

Conclusion

The outcome data indicate that chronic respiratory diseases increase the prevalence of oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) in patients. However, the relative small number of studies, differences in selection criteria, definitions and assessment techniques used for diagnosing OSA, COPD, and OD point to the need for further research.

Keywords

Systematic review
Dysphagia
COPD
Obstructive sleep apnea
Swallowing disorder

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