Abstract
Objectives
To determine changes in prevalence and severity of oropharyngeal dysphagia (OPD) in
children with cerebral palsy (CP) and the relationship to health outcomes.
Design
Longitudinal cohort study.
Setting
Community and tertiary institutions.
Participants
Children (N=53, 33 boys) with a confirmed diagnosis of CP assessed first at 18 to
24 months (Assessment 1: mean age ± SD, 22.9±2.9mo corrected age; Gross Motor Function
Classification System [GMFCS]: I, n=22; II, n=7; III, n=11; IV, n=5; V, n=8) and at
36 months (Assessment 2).
Interventions
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
OPD was classified using the Dysphagia Disorders Survey (DDS) and signs suggestive
of pharyngeal dysphagia. Nutritional status was measured using Z scores for weight,
height, and body mass index (BMI). Gross motor skills were classified on GMFCS and
motor type/distribution.
Results
Prevalence of OPD decreased from 62% to 59% between the ages of 18 to 24 months and
36 months. Thirty percent of children had an improvement in severity of OPD (greater
than smallest detectable change), and 4% had worse OPD. Gross motor function was strongly
associated with OPD at both assessments, on the DDS (Assessment 1: odds ratio [OR]=20.3,
P=.011; Assessment 2: OR=28.9, P=.002), pharyngeal signs (Assessment 1: OR=10.6, P=.007; Assessment 2: OR=15.8, P=.003), and OPD severity (Assessment 1: β=6.1, P<.001; Assessment 2: β=5.5, P<.001). OPD at 18 to 24 months was related to health outcomes at 36 months: low Z
scores for weight (adjusted β=1.2, P=.03) and BMI (adjusted β=1.1, P=.048), and increased parent stress (adjusted OR=1.1, P=.049).
Conclusions
Classification and severity of OPD remained relatively stable between 18 to 24 months
and 36 months. Gross motor function was the best predictor of OPD. These findings
contribute to developing more effective screening processes that consider critical
developmental transitions that are anticipated to present challenges for children
from each of the GMFCS levels.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
BMI (body mass index), CP (cerebral palsy), DDS (Dysphagia Disorders Survey), GMFCS (Gross Motor Function Classification System), OPD (oropharyngeal dysphagia)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: December 18, 2015
Footnotes
Current affiliations for Weir, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, and Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council Postgraduate Medical and Dental Scholarship (1018264–KB), Career Development Fellowship (APP1037220–RB), and Project Grants (grant nos. 569605, 465128); and by the Speech Pathology Australia Post Graduate Student Research Grant to conduct reliability ratings.
Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry Registration No.: 1261200169820.
Disclosures: K.L.B. reports a financial relationship with Danone and Nutricia outside the submitted work. The other authors have nothing to disclose.
Identification
Copyright
© 2016 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
