Awareness of swallowing disorders among medical professionals is low and needs to be improved, according to new research.
A research review from Monash University has found many health professionals did not know enough about dysphagia.
Dysphagia can impair the ability to swallow food, drinks, medicine, and saliva and can have a significant impact on a patient’s life.
Dr Debbie Pu, speech-language pathologist and Monash University School of Primary and Allied Health Care research fellow, said dysphagia rarely occurred by itself and was usually the consequence of medical conditions that affect the brain like stroke or dementia, or the muscles and tissues of the head and neck, such as cancer.
RELATED: 21000+ cases of head and neck cancer can be prevented
Together with speech pathology researchers from Stanford Healthcare and The University of Hong Kong, she reviewed studies that have examined a lack of awareness in people who could be affected by dysphagia, including patients, their family and friends, health professionals, and people who work in food service.
“Unsurprisingly, most people are not aware of its existence until they or a loved one is affected,” Dr Pu said.
“Unfortunately, this lack of awareness seems to also exist amongst health professionals who could be making timely referrals for the condition.”
The review found health professionals did not have high awareness and knowledge of dysphagia, unless their specialisation exposed them to the condition, and individuals with dysphagia often felt that they were not adequately supported by health professionals.
One study that was part of the review surveyed more than 1000 adult patients who experience chronic pain with dysphagia. It found that only around a third (32%) of the patients believed their physician was aware of their swallowing difficulties.
“This is consistent with other findings that showed that general practitioners did not identify their patients who experienced self-reported dysphagia, and reports from both patients and health professionals that there may not always be proactive communications about the patient’s swallowing function,” the review found.
“When the individuals with dysphagia requested support for their dysphagia from health professionals, the lack of helpful advice they received at times showed an apparent lack of awareness of the issue.”
Dr Pu said while inter-professional education sessions were usually provided by speech pathologists to their colleagues in hospitals, there was a lack of information for community-based medical professionals like GPs who are well placed to spot patients experiencing dysphagia.
RELATED: Cervical disc replacements: the long-term evidence
Possible signs of dysphagia include coughing, choking or frequent throat clearing during or after eating/drinking, unplanned weight loss and frequent chest infections without obvious reasons.
People with difficulty swallowing might take a long time to eat, become short of breath when swallowing or avoid certain foods.
Dr Pu said to identify and address dysphagia, it was important for medical professionals to ask patients about how they’re swallowing, or eating and drinking, as part of their usual suite of questions during a consultation.
“This could lead to useful information that the patient and doctor would otherwise not consider to be relevant and allow timely referrals to be made to a speech pathologist.”
Dr Pu recommends a 2013 paper that provides an overview of the causes of dysphagia for GPs who want to learn more.
Want more news, clinicals, features and guest columns delivered straight to you? Subscribe for free to WA’s only independent magazine for medical practitioners.
Want to submit an article? Email editor@mforum.com.au