A Nerve Block Therapy for Bulbar Palsy Pharyngeal Dysphagia

Yale Pharyngeal Residue Severity Rating Scale

The Yale Pharyngeal Residue Severity Rating Scale (Yale) was used to assess the severity of pharyngeal residue in patients. While PAS primarily evaluated whether food or liquid entered the airway, Yale focused on the condition of pharyngeal residue. The scale includes the four levels from 0 to 3, with lower levels indicating less severe pharyngeal residue.

Time frame: day 1 and day 10

penetration-aspiration scale

this assessment evaluated the patient's swallowing of contrast medium and whether there was retention, penetration, and aspiration. It included multiple items, each with the corresponding criteria, Specifically, whether the swallowed material entered the airway, passed through or contacted the vocal cords, and whether the patient exhibited the corresponding ability to clear. There were 8 levels in the results, with higher levels indicating more severe aspiration.

Time frame: day 1 and day 10

Video fluoroscopic swallowing study

The patient was required to take a sitting position with the head naturally upright. Under the guidance of the examiner, the patient first swallowed 5ml of iohexol solution (50ml:17.5g in iodine terms). If the patient exhibited aspiration, the test would stop. If not, the patient was instructed to swallow 10ml of iohexol solution mixed with breadcrumbs, and the patient's swallowing condition was observed with immediate measures ready to take for safety. Specially, the esophageal phase was not included in the study, because it was commonly regarded as an independent phase. The swallowing were divided into 3 phases in this assessment: Oral phase, Pharyngeal phase, and Aspiration, with maximum 3,3,4 points were given to each phase. The total score was calculated as the final result. The final score was positively correlated with the swallowing function.