Dysphagia severity is associated with worse sleep-disordered breathing in infants with Down syndrome
- S-Med
- 1 day ago
- 1 min read
This study demonstrates that there is a high prevalence of dysphagia and SDB in I-DS. Furthermore, we demonstrated our hypothesis that dysphagia severity is correlated with oAHI severity. To our knowledge, this represents the first study describing the occurrence of dysphagia and OSA exclusively in I-DS.
A number of studies have highlighted the high prevalence of dysphagia in I-DS. One prior study including children with Down syndrome, 2–7 years of age, demonstrated problems in the oral phase of swallowing—in particular, an immature chewing pattern in which food was held in the mouth for longer periods of time without chewing. There was a lack of oral anterior seal and poor movement of the tongue, resulting in inefficient bolus transit. Nearly all (96%) of I-DS between the ages of 0 and 6 months were found to have some manifestation of oral or pharyngeal dysphagia with symptoms severe enough to warrant alteration of breast milk, formula, or non-oral feeds in 69%. In another study including I-DS, 90% of them showed oral dysphagia with abnormal sucking in 63.7%, abnormal bolus formation in 62%, and pharyngeal dysphagia was present in 72.4%, with 53.5% of infants demonstrating abnormal swallow. Pharyngeal residue was present in 17.3% and pharyngo-nasal reflux was present in 27.5%, laryngeal penetration was seen in 52.0% of infants, and tracheal aspiration was seen in 31.5%.
Comments