Svelgundersøkelse

Svelgundersøkelse, also known as a swallowing examination or dysphagia evaluation, is a medical assessment used to diagnose and understand difficulties with swallowing. These difficulties, collectively termed dysphagia, can arise from various neurological, structural, or physiological issues affecting the complex process of moving food or liquid from the mouth to the stomach.

The purpose of a svelgundersøkelse is to identify the underlying cause of dysphagia, determine its severity, and guide treatment strategies. This can significantly improve a patient's quality of life, prevent complications such as aspiration pneumonia, malnutrition, and dehydration, and ensure safe oral intake.

Several methods are employed in a svelgundersøkelse. A clinical swallowing assessment, often performed by a speech-language pathologist or physician, involves observing the patient's ability to chew, manipulate food in the mouth, and initiate a swallow. It may include trials with different food consistencies and volumes. Instrumental assessments provide more detailed visualization of the swallowing mechanism. The most common are videofluoroscopic swallowing studies (VFSS), also known as modified barium swallows, which use X-rays to view the swallow in real-time, and fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES), which uses a flexible endoscope inserted through the nose to view the pharynx and larynx during swallowing.

The findings from a svelgundersøkelse inform personalized treatment plans, which can include dietary modifications, swallowing exercises, compensatory strategies, or, in some cases, alternative feeding methods.