NCT07198568

Relationship Between Swallowing Dynamics and Suprahyoid Muscle Activity in Sarcopenic Dysphagia

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 50 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Inha University Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

Sarcopenic dysphagia is defined as swallowing difficulty among the elderly due to the loss of whole body skeletal and swallowing muscle mass and function. However, the pathophysiology and dynamics of swallowing in sarcopenic dysphagia have been poorly investigated. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the characteristics of sarcopenic dysphagia using the Videofluoroscopic study (VFSS) focusing on each phase of dysphagia, and surface Electromyography (surface EMG) to assess suprahyoid muscle activity. In sarcopenic dysphagia, impairments will occur in both the oral and pharyngeal phases, particularly affecting bolus formation, premature bolus spillage and laryngeal elevation during swallowing due to the loss of swallowing muscle mass and function. These changes will be considered to have led to an change of duration and amplitude of suprahyoid muscle activity measured via surface EMG.

Detailed description

Measuring the muscle activity of the suprahyoid muscles presents a challenge due to their location, which is difficult to access. Despite this difficulty, surface Electromyography (sEMG) is an effective method for assessing the electrical activity of the suprahyoid muscles. sEMG is a non-invasive, portable, and cost-effective technique that records activity within the electrode detection area. It has been suggested as a diagnostic tool for identifying dysphagia. Several studies have demonstrated that specific patterns in the sEMG of suprahyoid muscles, including duration and amplitude, exhibit distinct characteristics attributable to various etiologies. A previous study has examined the suprahyoid muscle activity patterns in sarcopenic dysphagia patients using sEMG. However, there was a lack of research analyzing the swallowing dynamics of sarcopenic dysphagia alongside Videofluoroscopic Swallowing Study (VFSS). VFSS enables the observation of swallowing in phases, offering a crucial method for assessing the presence of dysphagia and identifying the specific phases where dysphagia occurs. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the characteristics of sarcopenic dysphagia across phases using sEMG and VFSS. Additionally, Investigators aim to analyze the relationship between suprahyoid muscle activity patterns and swallowing dynamics utilizing these modalities. Videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) will done for all participants to evaluate swallowing function. The VFSS procedure followed the Logemann protocol and will be supervised by a rehabilitation physician and an occupational therapist. Another physician will observe and score the test without having access to the patient's personal details. During the VFSS, participants will seat upright in a chair, swallowing images of the lateral projection will be obtained from participants. The participants undergo swallowing trials with varying viscosities, including semiliquid, semisolid, solid, and thin liquids (2cc, 5cc, 10cc). All trials are mixed with an undiluted liquid barium solution, barium sulfate. During the procedure, participants will undergo progressively thicker food, starting from liquids and advancing to solid materials. Following the protocol, liquid 2 cubic centimeter (cc) trial will precede to the 5cc trial. If, the 2cc trial indicated aspiration and the physician determined there was a high risk for aspiration, next step of trial can be skipped and the VFSS will be stopped. If, a large amount of aspiration occurred, the VFSS will be halted, and the participant will encouraged to expectorate the food material. The activity of suprahyoid muscles will be recorded using a surface electromyography. Pairs of disposable self-adhesive electrodes will fixed to the skin surface of the suprahyoid muscles. The electrodes positioned symmetrically between the hyoid bone and the chin, with a center-to-center distance of 20mm. Before attaching, participants will seated upright in a chair and the skin surface will be cleaned using alcohol swabs. After attaching the electrodes, participant instructed to open their jaw as wide as they could for 10 seconds to measure the amplitude, which can be used as a reference for normalization. The amplitude of sEMG is influenced by various tissue conditions. Therefore, normalization based on a reference muscle contraction is necessary to compare amplitudes between individuals. Subsequently, participants will received 2ml of water on the floor of the mouth using a syringe, and will be instructed to swallow under the guidance of a rehabilitation physician. Each participant undergo three trials of water swallowing, separated by 30 seconds intervals.

Conditions

• Sarcopenia in Elderly
• Dysphagia

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DIAGNOSTIC_TEST	Surface electromyography	A previous other study has examined the suprahyoid muscle activity patterns in sarcopenic dysphagia patients using surface electromyography (sEMG). However, there was a lack of research analyzing the swallowing dynamics of sarcopenic dysphagia alongside Videofluoroscopic Swallowing Study (VFSS). VFSS enables the observation of swallowing in phases, offering a crucial method for assessing the presence of dysphagia and identifying the specific phases where dysphagia occurs. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the characteristics of sarcopenic dysphagia across phases using sEMG and VFSS. Additionally, the investigators aim to analyze the relationship between suprahyoid muscle activity patterns and swallowing dynamics utilizing these modalities.
DIAGNOSTIC_TEST	Videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS)	VFSS enables the observation of swallowing in phases, offering a crucial method for assessing the presence of dysphagia and identifying the specific phases where dysphagia occurs. The investigators will utilize Videofluoroscopic Dysphagia Scale (VDS), that composed of fourteen categories, which can be divided into oral and pharyngeal phases to assess scores based on VFSS results. The oral phase composed of 7 items (lip closure, bolus formation, mastication, apraxia, tongue-to-palate contact, premature bolus loss, and oral transit time). The pharyngeal phase also included 7 items (triggering of pharyngeal swallowing, vallecular residues, pyriform sinus residues, laryngeal elevation, coating of pharyngeal wall, pharyngeal transit time, and aspiration). VDS can assess the components of dysphagia in such detail. Therefore, investigators can evaluate the etiology of dysphagia more precisely.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-06-03
• Primary completion: 2026-03-01
• Completion: 2026-04-01
• First posted: 2025-09-30
• Last updated: 2026-03-06

Locations

1 site across 1 country: South Korea