Effect Of Bolus Viscosity On Epiglottic Inversion During Swallowing

Ramsey Coyle

School Name

South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics

Grade Level

12th Grade

Presentation Topic

Physiology and Health

Presentation Type

Mentored

Mentor

Mentor: Bonnie Martin-Harris, Department of Otolaryngology, Medical University of South Carolina

Oral Presentation Award

2nd Place

Abstract

Swallowing is an important and complex bodily function. One important structure involved in swallowing function is the epiglottis, which covers the airway during the swallow to help prevent food or liquid from getting into the trachea. This study aimed to examine if a more viscous bolus would induce greater inversion of the epiglottis, giving better protection to the airway during the swallow. This was tested by examining Modified Barium Swallow Study videos using the Modified Barium Swallow Impairment Profile ©™. This study looked specifically at component 10; epiglottic movement, which is scored on a 0-2 scale. It was hypothesized that more scores of 0 (complete inversion) would be seen in pudding trials when compared with thin liquid trials. The two swallows included a 5-mL (teaspoon) thin liquid trial and a 5-mL pudding trial. For purpose of this descriptive analysis, the scores were dichotomized into unimpaired (score = 0) and impaired (scores = 1 or 2). Fischer’s exact test was used to analyze the data to indicate a statistical difference between the swallows of the different viscosities in this small sample. The rates of scores were entered into a 2x2 contingency table. The statistical significance was set at an alpha level of 0.05. There were significantly less impaired scores with the pudding than with the thin (P value = 0.0004).

Start Date

4-11-2015 9:00 AM

End Date

4-11-2015 9:15 AM

COinS
 
Apr 11th, 9:00 AM Apr 11th, 9:15 AM

Effect Of Bolus Viscosity On Epiglottic Inversion During Swallowing

Swallowing is an important and complex bodily function. One important structure involved in swallowing function is the epiglottis, which covers the airway during the swallow to help prevent food or liquid from getting into the trachea. This study aimed to examine if a more viscous bolus would induce greater inversion of the epiglottis, giving better protection to the airway during the swallow. This was tested by examining Modified Barium Swallow Study videos using the Modified Barium Swallow Impairment Profile ©™. This study looked specifically at component 10; epiglottic movement, which is scored on a 0-2 scale. It was hypothesized that more scores of 0 (complete inversion) would be seen in pudding trials when compared with thin liquid trials. The two swallows included a 5-mL (teaspoon) thin liquid trial and a 5-mL pudding trial. For purpose of this descriptive analysis, the scores were dichotomized into unimpaired (score = 0) and impaired (scores = 1 or 2). Fischer’s exact test was used to analyze the data to indicate a statistical difference between the swallows of the different viscosities in this small sample. The rates of scores were entered into a 2x2 contingency table. The statistical significance was set at an alpha level of 0.05. There were significantly less impaired scores with the pudding than with the thin (P value = 0.0004).