Laryngoscope investigative otolaryngology
Patient-Reported Dysphagia After Multimodal Therapy and Radial Forearm Free-Flap Reconstruction for OPSCC: Associations With FEES Findings, Psychological Distress, and Xerostomia
By Seuthe IMC, Ennenbach JF, Bolotina N and 7 others.
Abstract
Objective
This study investigated whether fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES)-derived parameters reflect patient-reported dysphagia and swallowing-related quality of life in patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) after surgery-based multimodal therapy with free-flap reconstruction. In addition, it assessed the roles of psychological distress and xerostomia in this context.
Methods
This multicenter, cross-sectional exploratory study included 50 patients. FEES parameters comprised Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS) and residue scores. Patient-reported outcomes were assessed using the Sydney Swallow Questionnaire (SSQ) and MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI), psychological distress using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and xerostomia using the Xerostomia Inventory (XI). Associations were examined using Spearman correlations with Benjamini-Hochberg correction and exploratory rank-transformed multiple linear regression.