Oropharyngeal Dysphagia in Patients with COPD: A Systematic Review Lisa O Kane, B.A. Michael Groher, Ph.D. Boston University University of Redlands Boston, MA Redlands, CA ASHA Convention 2009 New Orleans Friday, November 20, 2009
Swallowing Background 18 million adults in the U.S. have dysphagia 1 Swallowing problems can lead to: Malnutrition Aspiration Aspiration pneumonia/pulmonary infection 2 Speech-Language Pathologists diagnose and treat patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia
COPD Background The World Health Organization predicts COPD will be the 3 rd most common diagnosis in the world and 5 th most disabling by 2020 3 COPD encompasses: Chronic bronchitis Emphysema Airway obstruction 4 Coughing, choking, and shortness of breath are common effects of COPD that inhibit daily life
Background Patients with respiratory disorders will often exhibit disorders of swallowing What do we know about swallowing disorders in patients with respiratory compromise?
Previous Work Relationship between breathing and swallowing 5,6 Anatomical: brainstem Anatomical: similar structures used for both upper airway maintenance and swallowing Physiological: swallowing interrupts the cycle of respiration Should disordered respiration lead to disordered swallowing?
Systematic Review Conduct a systematic review of the literature that documents swallowing disorders in patients with COPD. A systematic review: a review that aims to evaluate all evidence pertaining to a certain question and then draw a conclusion from that review.
Methodology The questions: Is there evidence that patients with COPD have oropharyngeal dysphagia? Are there any incidence/prevalence data? What are the characteristics of those affected, not affected? Is there evidence that treating COPD might improve/prevent oropharyngeal dysphagia?
Methodology Search for articles (1990-2008) Using the Medline, ComDis Dome, and Cochrane Library databases: Respiratory disorders, swallowing disorders, COPD, dysphagia, deglutition, GERD, complications, oxygen saturation, meals. No exclusionary criteria Found abstracts and requested articles Also checked all references for possible articles Read articles and determine their strength of evidence using methodological quality analysis. 7
Grade Level of Evidence Type of Evidence A 1a SR of RCT s 1b Individual RCT 1c All or none B 2a 2b 2c 3a 3b SR of cohort studies Individual cohort study Outcomes research SR of case-control Individual casecontrol C 4 Case series/poor quality case-control and cohort studies D 5 Expert opinion w/o critical appraisal or based on first principles 8
Results Is there evidence that patients with COPD have oropharyngeal dysphagia? Yes, there are studies that show a relationship.
Results Studies on COPD and oropharyngeal dysphagia: 49 studies reviewed 7 found on COPD and oropharyngeal dysphagia. Levels of Evidence: 0-A, 3-B, 3-C, 1-D 209 patients with COPD, 41 healthy controls in total were tested between all 7 studies. 4,9-14 5 studies reported that at least 80% of patients with COPD showed to have swallowing dysfunction
Results Incidence/prevalence data? No studies documented the incidence or prevalence of oropharyngeal dysphagia in patients with COPD. What are the characteristics of those not affected compared to those affected? No studies were found Does treatment of COPD improve/prevent oropharyngeal dysphagia? No studies were found
Conclusions There is limited evidence that documents the relationship between oropharyngeal dysphagia and COPD. Of the evidence available, none is at Level A
Future Work Recommend conducting future studies on this population Incidence/prevalence data Comparison of groups with/without dysphagia and COPD Does medical treatment of COPD have an impact on dysphagia? Does dysphagia impact COPD? If we can improve respiratory function with exercise, will that positively impact the patient with COPD who is at risk for dysphagia?
References 1 Humbert I and Robbins J. Normal swallowing and functional magnetic resonance imaging: a systematic review. Dysphagia 2007; 22:266-275 2 Burkhead LM, Sapienza CM, and Rosenbek JC. Strength-training exercise in dysphagia rehabilitation: principles, procedures, and directions for future research. Dysphagia 2007; 22:251-265 3 Viego et al. Respirology 2006. 4 Good-Fratturelli, Curlee RF, and Holle JL. Prevalence and nature of dysphagia in VA patients with COPD referred for videoflouroscopic swallow examination. J. Commun Disord 2000; 33:93-110 5 Martin-Harris B et al. J Appl Physiol 2003; 94:1735-43 6 Martin-Harris B et al. J Appl Physiol 1994; 76: 714-23 7 Carnaby-Mann, GD and Crary, MA. Examining the evidence on neuromuscular electrical stimulation for swallowing. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2007; 133:564-571 8 Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine Levels of Evidence(2001) www.cebm.net 9 Kobayashi S, Kubo H and Yanai M. Impairment of the swallowing reflex in exacerbations of COPD. Thorax 2007; 62:1017 10 Stein M, Williams A, Grossman F, Weinberg A, and Zuckerman L. Cricopharyngeal dysfunction in COPD. Chest 1990; 97:347-352 11 Coelho C. Preliminary findings on the nature of dysphagia in patients with COPD. Dysphagia 1987; 2:28-31 12 Mokhlesi B, Logemann J, Rademaker A, Stangl C and Corbridge T. Oropharyngeal deglutition in stable COPD. Chest 2002;121:361-369 13 Shaker R et al. Coordination of deglutition and phases of respiration: effect of aging, tachypnea, bolus volume, and COPD. Am J Physiology 1992; 263:750-5 14 Harding S. Oropharyngeal dysfunction in COPD patients: the need for clinical research. Chest 2002;121:315-317