Computer-based videofluorographic analysis of posterior pharyngeal wall movement during swallowing in patients with head-and-neck cancer

Abstract

We sought to develop a method for evaluating dysphagia using videofluorography (VF) by analyzing the time course of changes in pharyngeal wall movement and to assess patients with head-and-neck cancer before and after surgery. The subjects were 14 patients diagnosed with head-and-neck cancer. We obtained VF images before and after surgery and analyzed them with two-dimensional video measurement software. Then, we calculated dysfunction scores based on the remaining or aspiration amount of sample by interpreting the VF images. We found dysmotility of the posterior pharyngeal wall in some postoperative cases. Inter- and intrarater reproducibility was high in the evaluation of posterior pharyngeal wall movements. A significant difference was found in the scores between the patients showing dysmotility of the posterior pharyngeal wall and no dysmotility. We developed a reproducible method for evaluating movements of the posterior pharyngeal wall during swallowing using VF. This may become a useful tool for objectively evaluating VF data.