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Refining the Protocol and Clinical Pathway for Oesophageal Screening in Videofluoroscopic Swallow Studies: An Examination of Clinical and Operational Impacts Over Five Years.

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Τίτλος: Refining the Protocol and Clinical Pathway for Oesophageal Screening in Videofluoroscopic Swallow Studies: An Examination of Clinical and Operational Impacts Over Five Years.
Συγγραφείς: McCarthy K; School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. kellie.mccarthy@student.uq.edu.au.; Speech Pathology Department, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia. kellie.mccarthy@student.uq.edu.au., Finch E; School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.; Speech Pathology Department, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.; Research and Innovation, West Moreton Health, Ipswich, QLD, Australia., Miles A; School of Psychology, Faculty of Science, Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Πηγή: Dysphagia [Dysphagia] 2026 Jun; Vol. 41 (3), pp. 635-649. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Feb 25.
Τύπος έκδοσης: Journal Article
Γλώσσα: English
Στοιχεία περιοδικού: Publisher: Springer-Verlag Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 8610856 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1432-0460 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 0179051X NLM ISO Abbreviation: Dysphagia Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Original Publication: New York : Springer-Verlag, [c1986-
Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): Deglutition Disorders*/diagnostic imaging , Deglutition Disorders*/diagnosis , Esophagus*/diagnostic imaging , Esophagus*/physiopathology , Mass Screening*/methods , Critical Pathways* , Clinical Protocols*, Fluoroscopy/methods ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Female ; Male ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Video Recording ; Aged, 80 and over ; Speech-Language Pathology
Περίληψη: Current international practice guidelines recommend videofluoroscopic swallow studies (VFSSs) include oesophageal screening. However, the clinical application of oesophageal screening is not well established. A multidisciplinary dysphagia team at one hospital refined their oesophageal screening protocol and clinical pathway over five years, exploring clinical and operational impacts. Retrospective chart audits were conducted for 100 consecutive 2024 VFSS patients (refined protocol group). VFSS reports, gastroenterologist (GE) consultations and clinical pathway adherence were compared to previously published VFSS cohorts at the research site (pre-protocol group, 2019-20, n = 100; protocol group, 2020-21, n = 160). There were no differences between the three groups for age (p > .05) or oropharyngeal dysphagia severity (p > .05). Rates of oesophageal screening significantly increased (p < .001) following protocol introduction. In the refined protocol group, there was a significant increase (83% versus 6%, p < .001) in speech-language pathologists (SLPs) providing oesophageal strategy advice and no difference in patient VFSS radiation dose (p > .05) compared to the protocol group when oesophageal screening was conducted. There was no difference between the three groups for new GE consultation rates (p > .05). Post-audit, SLP + GE case discussions were added to the clinical pathway to allow for more individualised management of complex patients. The refined oesophageal screening protocol and clinical pathway expanded clinician understanding of patients' dysphagia by marrying reported symptoms with VFSS findings and led to targeted intervention without adverse impacts. Ongoing work is required to further optimise multidisciplinary dysphagia team collaboration and patient outcomes.
(© 2026. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)
Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.
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Grant Information: Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: Dysphagia; Modified barium swallow; Multidisciplinary; Oesophageal screening; Videofluoroscopic swallow studies
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20260225 Date Completed: 20260623 Latest Revision: 20260623
Update Code: 20260624
DOI: 10.1007/s00455-025-10917-0
PMID: 41739168
Βάση Δεδομένων: MEDLINE
Περιγραφή
ISSN:1432-0460
DOI:10.1007/s00455-025-10917-0