Primary objective: To document the clinical characteristics of acute dysphagia in a group of pediatric patients after traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Research design: Prospective group study.
Methods: Fourteen subjects (7 males, 7 females), aged 4 years 1 month to 15 years, with moderate or severe TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] < 12). Subjects were assessed via clinical bedside examination documenting cognitive status, oromotor function, feeding function, dietary recommendations, and an indication of overall feeding severity.
Results: A pattern of impaired cognition, altered behavior related to feeding, severe tonal and postural deficits, oromotor, respiratory, and laryngeal impairments, and oral sensitivity issues was revealed.
Conclusions: Swallowing impairment was affected by multilevel deficits, which both individually and in combination had a negative impact on swallowing competence and safety. In light of deficits identified, which could not be observed on videofluoroscopic investigation alone, this study highlighted the importance of the clinical bedside examination in assessing dysphagia in pediatric patients post-TBI for identifying targets for intervention.