Impairment of the swallowing reflex in exacerbations of COPD

Abstract

Fifty clinically stable patients with COPD were enrolled from the outpatient clinic of Ishinomaki Red Cross Hospital, Ishinomaki, Japan. Patients who were current smokers and those with oral corticosteroid use, oral and pharyngeal cancer, previous head and neck surgery, neuromuscular disease and oesophageal disease were excluded. Twenty-five patients (22 men and 3 women) had at least one exacerbation during the previous year, while the other 25 patients (21 men and 4 women) were stable. In the exacerbation group the patients had 2.4 (range 1–10) exacerbations per year, and 20 patients (80%) required hospital admission. There was no significant difference between the stable group and the exacerbation group in age (mean (SE) 75.0 (1.3) years vs 77.2 (1.0) years), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV₁) (mean (SE) 1.11 (0.11) l vs 1.07 (0.09) l), percentage predicted value of FEV₁ (mean (SE) 47.1 (3.7)% vs 50.1 (3.7)%) and the rate of home oxygen therapy (4% vs 20%). All patients were eating an entirely oral diet without complaining of dysphagia prior to enrolment.