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Query: UMLS:C0010200 (cough)
 23,843 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The purposes of this study were to (1) evaluate swallowing function using both subjective and objective measures in patients treated nonsurgically for stages III and IV laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma, (2) assess the effect of time from treatment completion on swallowing function, and (3) assess sequelae associated with modality of treatment. To achieve these objectives, a retrospective study of 14 patients was conducted. Fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) was performed and evaluated by three independent judges for seven functional criteria: standing secretions, valleculae spillage, valleculae residue, postcricoid residue, laryngeal penetration, aspiration, and cough. Patient interviews were performed to establish patient perception of swallowing and his/her current posttreatment diet. Results revealed that each patient exhibited swallowing abnormalities in at least one of the seven objective functional categories studied. Ten patients suffered from variable degrees of dysphagia, ranging from mild to severe, on all measures. No significant differences were noted between those patients with less than or greater than 12 months posttreatment. Common treatment sequelae included PEG tube placement for nutritional supplementation, tracheostomy placement for airway security and/or pulmonary toilet, repeated episodes of aspiration pneumonia requiring hospital admission, and radiation-induced oropharyngeal stricture. Further studies using subjective and objective swallowing function measures for patients treated with alternative chemoradiation regimens versus surgery (with or without adjuvant therapies) for advanced stage laryngeal cancer are needed.
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PMID:Swallowing function outcomes following nonsurgical therapy for advanced-stage laryngeal carcinoma. 1654 94

We report a case of aspiration admitted to our rehabilitation unit in a patient with dysphagia due to diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis or Forestier's disease of the cervical spine, in whom an episode of pneumonia had occurred. Clinical and instrumental findings, including radiography of the spine, (CT Scan) and videofluoroscopy, confirmed the diagnosis. The dysphagia was hypothesized to be due to mechanical compression and inflammatory changes, accompanied by fibrosis in the esophagus wall. The aspiration pneumonia probably had multifactorial etiology: dysphagia, abnormal cough reflex, colonization of the oropharynx by virulent bacteria, etc. No aspiration pneumonia occurred after medical treatment and rehabilitation had been started. We review the medical literature on this unusual cause of aspiration pneumonia.
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PMID:An unusual cause of aspiration pneumonia. 1660 41

Gastroesophageal reflux disease is the most common and expensive digestive disease with complex and multi-factorial pathophysiologic mechanisms. Transient inappropriate relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter is the predominant mechanism in the majority of patients with mild to moderate disease. Hiatal hernias and a reduced lower esophageal sphincter pressure have a significant role in patients with moderate to severe disease. Typical manifestations of gastroesophageal reflux disease include heartburn, regurgitation, and dysphagia. Atypical symptoms, such as noncardiac chest pain, pulmonary manifestations of asthma, cough, aspiration pneumonia, or ENT manifestations of globus and laryngitis, can be seen in patients with or without typical symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Endoscopy and ambulatory pH tests are best to evaluate the anatomic and physiologic impact ofgastroesophageal reflux disease. Complications of chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease include peptic strictures and Barrett metaplasia. Barrett esophagus is a major risk factor for esophageal adenocarcinoma, and upper endoscopy with surveillance biopsies is recommended for patients with Barrett esophagus. Medical therapy with anti-secretory agents (H2 blockers and proton pump inhibitors) is effective for most patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease. Surgical fundoplications and endoscopic treatment modalities are mechanical treatment options for patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease.
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PMID:Management of gastroesophageal reflux disease. 1686 56

Because of the close anatomical relationships between thyroid gland and laryngeal nerves, sensory-motor impairment of the laryngeal functions is a well known possible complication of thyroid surgery. Laryngeal nerve paralysis can present with various and often associated symptoms like dysphagia, aspiration, voice alteration or dyspnea. Several examination procedures are mandatory to perform a complete neuro-laryngeal evaluation: rigid and flexible video-stroboscopy will assess the abductor, adductor and tensor functions in breathing, sniffing, talking and eventually singing tasks. Laryngeal electromyography (LEMG), despite its technical difficulties, brings valuable objective and pronostic informations. Aerodynamic assessment of voice production and objective acoustic voice evaluation are important for patients' follow-up, especially for voice professionals like teachers and singers. Treatment of laryngeal sensory-motor nerve paralysis can be conservative, with the help of speech therapy. Early surgical treatment is indicated in cases with severe functional problems like aspiration pneumonia, disabling breathy hypophonia, ineffective cough, disabling dyspnea. Surgical therapy at 6 to 9 months after injury is indicated in patients who demonstrate evidence of denervation or little activity on LEMG and have a poor response to a reasonable trial of speech therapy. Many surgical procedures are available. Depending on the type of neuro-laryngeal deficit, the main and more widely used techniques are: injection laryngoplasty, medialization thyroplasty, arytenoid adduction, arytenoidopexy, crico-thyroid approximation, endoscopic laser cordotomy and re-innervation procedures.
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PMID:Laryngeal dysfunction after thyroid surgery: diagnosis, evaluation and treatment. 1701 88

We review cough from premature birth, mature neonatal life, in childhood and adult life, and in old age. There is a regrettable lack of definitive studies, but many clues in the literature. The cough reflex seems weak in premature infants, but develops with maturity. It is pronounced in childhood, but there seem to be no studies comparing its strength then with that in adulthood. In old age the cough may weaken, as indicated by the prevalence of aspiration pneumonia. These changes are presumably related to the development and degeneration of the afferent and central nervous pathways for cough, which may be reflected in the changes in laryngeal muscle function with age. There is much evidence that age influences the development of the respiratory system in general, and of the immune system which would affect the degree, frequency and clinical issues of cough. Other factors that limit our understanding of the changes in cough with age include the reporting of cough by parents in infants and carers in old age and the use of different diagnostic criteria throughout life. Age-related variation in cough sensitivity seems to be well established, but its quantitation and mechanisms require much further research.
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PMID:Cough throughout life: children, adults and the senile. 1711 85

Aspiration pneumonias occur more frequently than reported and, in many cases, the disease is not recognised. In hospitalised and institutionalised patients with predisposing diseases prompt diagnosis of this complication and correct preventive measures can drastically reduce the worsening of clinical conditions and the deaths due to aspiration pneumonia. Normal airway structure, effective defence mechanisms, and preventive measures are decisive in reducing aspiration episodes. An increased aspiration risk for food, fluids, medications, or secretions may lead to the development of pneumonia. Pneumonia is the most common respiratory complication in all stroke deaths and in mechanical ventilation patients. In addition, the increased incidence of aspiration pneumonia with aging may be a consequence of impairment of swallowing and the cough reflex. Dysphagia, compromised consciousness, invasive procedures, anaesthesia, insufficient oral care, sleep disorders, and vomiting are all risk factors. Aspiration pneumonia includes different characteristic syndromes based on the amount (massive, acute, chronic) and physical character of the aspirated material (acid, infected, lipoid), needing a different therapeutic approach. Chronic patients education and correct health care practices are the keys for preventing the events of aspiration. In patients at risk a clinical and instrumental assessment of dysphagia should be evaluated. Management includes the removal of etiologic factors (drugs, tubes, mobilisation, oral hygiene), supportive care, and in bacterial pneumonias a specific antibiotic therapy for community-acquired or nosocomial events.
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PMID:Aspiration pneumonia. Pathophysiological aspects, prevention and management. A review. 1721 95

Acquired megaesophagus of suspected neuromuscular origin was diagnosed in a six year old Holstein cow. The dilatation was restricted to the lower cervical esophagus. Signs included projectile regurgitation of chewed ingesta at variable periods of time after swallowing, nasal discharge of mucus and feed particles, and a cough. A secondary aspiration pneumonia was associated with this condition. The dilated portion of the esophagus was detected utilizing positive contrast radiography and fiberoptic endoscopy. Treatment consisted of feed management and antibiotics. Deglutition in the cow returned to normal over a three month period despite radiographic and fiberoptic endoscopic evidence of a persistent dilatation of the esophagus.
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PMID:Dilatation of the lower cervical esophagus in a cow. 1742 88

Aspiration of particulate matter is a well-recognized complication in debilitated patients at autopsy but is not widely recognized in surgical pathology material. We have encountered a surprising number of cases on biopsy or resection specimens, and most were unsuspected clinically and pathologically. This study was undertaken to clarify clinical and pathologic features that facilitate the diagnosis of food/particulate matter aspiration pneumonia. Fifty-nine patients were identified with an average age of 57 (range 26 to 85), and a male/female ratio of 2:1. Common presenting symptoms (information available in 36 cases) included dyspnea (14), fever (9), and cough (6). A history of recurrent pneumonia was present in 9. Radiographic data were available in 34 cases. Bilateral infiltrates or nodules were found in 17 cases, whereas the changes were unilateral in 17. Solitary nodules clinically suspicious for neoplasm were present in 13. Aspiration was suspected clinically in only 4 of the 45 cases in which the clinical impression or differential diagnosis was stated. Predisposing factors for aspiration were identified in 32 patients, including esophageal or gastric causes (19), drug use (10), and neurologic conditions (6). Histologically, bronchiolitis obliterans-organizing pneumonia was present in 52 (88%) cases, usually in combination with multinucleated giant cells, acute bronchopneumonia/bronchiolitis, and/or suppurative granulomas. Foreign material was identified in all cases, including most commonly vegetable or food remnants (54 cases), and less often talc or microcrystalline cellulose (7), crospovidone (4), and kayexalate (2). Particulate matter aspiration pneumonia is a more common cause of lung infiltrates and nodules than generally appreciated. The diagnosis should be suspected when multinucleated giant cells, acute bronchopneumonia/bronchiolitis, and/or suppurative granulomas are found in a background of bronchiolitis obliterans-organizing pneumonia. The presence of foreign material confirms the diagnosis.
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PMID:Pulmonary disease due to aspiration of food and other particulate matter: a clinicopathologic study of 59 cases diagnosed on biopsy or resection specimens. 1746 Apr 60

Zenker's diverticula commonly occur in the elderly, and quality of life is often impaired by typical symptoms such as dysphagia, regurgitation, halitosis, cough and aspiration pneumonia, malnutrition and weight loss. The "gold standard" treatment for pharyngo-oesophageal diverticula is the resection of the sac via left lateral cervicotomy and cricopharingeal myotomy. In the last decade, with the fast development of minimally invasive techniques, an endoscopic stapled approach has been proposed. This procedure rapidly encountered the favour of gastroenterologists because patients with Zenker's diverticulum often present serious co-morbidities and seem to benefit from the minimally invasive technique; but the crucial point in the treatment of Zenker's diverticula, in addition to the sac resection, is the myotomy of the cricopharyngeal muscle fibres and this could not be safely and completely achieved in endoscopic stapling owing to the risk of vascular lesions and incomplete sectioning of the sac. Moreover, many studies have reported similar results between open and endoscopic procedures in terms of postoperative morbidity and mortality, showing better functional outcomes in surgical patients even if elderly and presenting co-morbidities. In this report, the case of a 95 year-old patient, one of the oldest operated on for this disease and reported in the literature, is described. He was affected by a massive 8 cm Zenker's diverticulum and an oesophageal motility disorder (dyskinesia), with significant co-morbidity. Surgical diverticulectomy combined with cricopharyngeal myotomy was performed with excellent early and late results.
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PMID:Surgical treatment of a severe, massive, symptomatic Zenker's diverticulum in a very elderly patient. 1766 83

The rigid spine syndrome (RSS) is not a recognized cause of dysphagia. The "vacuolar variant" of RSS causes mild, generalized, and slowly progressive weakness. Respiratory evaluation detected severe restrictive chest wall defect and significant respiratory muscle weakness. We identified nine patients at our Neuromuscular Clinic over a period of years. The aim of this evaluation was to ascertain whether pharyngoesophageal dysfunction caused cough (2/9), intermittent oropharyngeal dysphagia (4/9), and aspiration pneumonia (3/9). Pharyngeal and esophageal functions were evaluated separately by conventional cineradiography and intraluminal esophageal manometry over a one-year study period. An age- and gender-matched volunteer group without swallowing complaints partook in the manometric component of the study. There were seven male and two female patients. The mean age of patients was 19.1 years (17.8 years for controls), and the age range was 11-36 years (13-32 years for controls). The mean disease duration was 17.2 years (range=8-31 years). Patients were commonly underweight (7/9). Cineradiology detected abnormal swallow physiology of pharyngeal striated muscle (1/9) and of esophageal smooth muscle (2/9). Mean manometric pressures in patients were not significantly different from control data. Manometry detected "nonspecific" contractility abnormalities (3/9) that were not reflected in the mean data. The relative lack of instrumental findings suggested minor upper alimentary tract dysmotility in patients with the RSS. The myopathy that underlies this syndrome likely caused dysfunction of the striated muscle of the pharyngeal constrictors and upper esophageal sphincter. The documented abnormalities of esophageal smooth muscle motility were nonspecific and tenuously associated with the muscle disorder. The incongruity between complaints of intermittent dysphagia and study results was perhaps due to transient pharyngoesophageal dysmotility, altered swallowing mechanics of limited cervical spine mobility, altered swallowing perception after previous intubation/tracheostomy, or a "functional" upper intestinal complaint.
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PMID:Rigid spine syndrome: a radiologic and manometric study of the pharynx and esophagus. 1769 9


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