Scintigraphic data are provided for 20 normal control subjects, 39-65 years of age. Each subject swallowed 10 cc of water and 10 cc of a more viscous material (1,100 centipoise) consisting of apple juice thickened with Thick-It, a commercial food thickener. The test substances were combined with 2.5 mCi Tc-99m sulfur colloid. Scintigraphic data were acquired in dynamic mode for 10 sec at 25 frames/sec as the subject swallowed. Time-activity (TA) data were used to compute transit times, percentage residues in the mouth and pharynx, percent ingested, and a derived swallow efficiency score. The liquid was ingested in a single swallow by all subjects, and 9 cc was actually transferred to the esophagus. In contrast, for the viscous material, 11/20 subjects performed a second clearing swallow within the 10-sec interval. On the first swallow with the viscous substance, an average of 7 cc was transferred to the esophagus. Scintigraphy offers an excellent technique for determining natural and preferred volumes for swallowing a variety of bolus consistencies, since it can quantify the volume of each swallow or partial swallow. In this group of subjects the oral discharge time was shorter with the viscous material than with the water, but the pharyngeal transit times were not significantly different for the two bolus consistencies. Numerical efficiency scores were lower for the viscous material, indicating that such a measure is bolus dependent.

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Tracheopulmonary aspiration commonly occurs in patients with dysphagia related to head and neck cancer. Scintigraphic studies were performed in 280 patients with head and neck cancer; 33% of these patients had tracheopulmonary aspiration. A subgroup of 18 tracheostomized patients had a tracheostomy tube with a removable obturator, so they could be studied with the tracheostomy open or occluded. When the tracheostomy was occluded the patients aspirated less frequently, and in significantly smaller quantities, than when it was open. When feasible, occluding the tracheostomy tube or permanent surgical closure may reduce or eliminate tracheopulmonary aspiration in these patients.

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