Head and Neck Virtual Coach: A Randomized Control Trial of Mobile Health as an Adjunct to Swallowing Therapy During Head and Neck Radiation

Dysphagia in Head and Neck Cancer

Dysphagia is a common symptom in patients with head and neck cancer that can significantly impact health outcomes and quality of life. The origin of dysphagia in these patients is often multifactorial, making diagnosis and management especially complex. The evaluating otolaryngologist should be well versed with the patient's neoplasm, comorbidities, and treatment history alongside dysphagia-specific imaging modalities. Management is often dynamic, requiring frequent monitoring, interprofessional collaboration, and a variety of supportive and invasive measures to achieve optimal outcomes.

Systematic review of adherence to swallow and trismus exercises during radiation therapy for head and neck cancer

Understanding the barriers and facilitators for prophylactic swallowing and trismus exercises for patients undergoing radiation to the head and neck may help exercise adherence. The analysis reviews all published reports of exercise adherence with a critical appraisal following PRISMA guidelines. A total of 137 potential papers were identified; 20 studies met the inclusion criteria. The most commonly reported facilitators for swallowing and trismus exercises were regular clinician contact and online resources to reinforce instructions, set goals, and manage radiation toxicities. Social support and perceived benefit from exercises were also reported to be of help. The most common barriers to exercise were radiation toxicities, anxiety, feeling overwhelmed with information, and not understanding the reason for the exercises. Understanding facilitators and barriers to adherence is critical when designing exercise interventions for patients undergoing radiation for head and neck cancer.

Post-Radiotherapy Dysphagia in Head and Neck Cancer: Current Management by Speech-Language Pathologists

OPINION STATEMENT

Dysphagia, difficulty in eating and drinking, remains the most common side effect of radiotherapy treatment for head and neck cancer (HNC) with devastating consequences for function and quality of life (QOL). Over the past decade, 5-year survival has improved due to multiple factors including treatment advances, reduction in smoking, introduction of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine and more favourable prognosis of HPV-related cancers. Increased prevalence of HPV-positive disease, which tends to affect younger individuals, has led to an elevated number of people living for longer with the sequelae of cancer and its treatment. Symptoms are compounded by late effects of radiotherapy which may lead to worsening of dysphagia for some long-term survivors or new-onset dysphagia for others. Speech-language pathology (SLP) input remains core to the assessment and management of dysphagia following HNC treatment. In this article, we present current SLP management of dysphagia post-radiotherapy. We discuss conventional treatment approaches, the emergence of therapy adjuncts and current service delivery models. The impact of adherence on therapy outcomes is highlighted. Despite treatment advancements, patients continue to present with dysphagia which is resistant to existing intervention approaches. There is wide variation in treatment programmes, with a paucity of evidence to support optimal type, timing and intensity of treatment. We discuss the need for further research, including exploration of the impact of radiotherapy on the central nervous system (CNS), the link between sarcopenia and radiotherapy-induced dysphagia and the benefits of visual biofeedback in rehabilitation.

Evaluation of Mobile Health Technology Interventions for the Postdischarge Management of Patients With Head and Neck Cancer: Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) often experience various types and degrees of complications and functional impairment following surgery or radiotherapy. Consequently, these patients require extensive postdischarge rehabilitation, either at home or in the community. Numerous studies have shown the advantages of mobile Health (mHealth) technology in assisting patients with cancer with self-management and rehabilitation during the postdischarge period. However, few reviews have focused on the intervention, management, and evaluation of mHealth technology in postdischarge patients with HNC.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to conduct a scoping review of mHealth technology apps and interventions currently available to patients discharged from hospitals after receiving treatment for HNC. This study sought to identify and summarize the types and effectiveness of existing mHealth interventions as well as the differences in their outcome assessments.

METHODS

The PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and CINAHL databases were used to identify studies with no publication time limits. The keywords "mobile health technology" and "head and neck cancer" were combined to address the main concepts of the research questions.

RESULTS

Of the 1625 papers identified, 13 (0.8%) met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Most studies (n=8, 61.5%) were randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and cohort studies. These studies were conducted in 6 countries. The main aims of the mHealth interventions in these studies are as follows: (1) symptom monitoring and assessment, (2) rehabilitation training, (3) access to medical health information, (4) telehealth advisers, (5) peer communication and support, and (6) follow-up/review reminders. The outcome evaluations of the 13 included studies were grouped into 4 categories: (1) technology usability and patient satisfaction, (2) self-management of symptoms and patient-reported outcome-related indicators, (3) adherence, and (4) health-related quality of life.

CONCLUSIONS

A limited number of studies have investigated the use of mHealth technology in the postdischarge self-management of patients with HNC. The existing literature suggests that mHealth technology can effectively assist patients with HNC in self-management and postdischarge interventions. It plays an important role in addressing patients' health information needs, reducing both their somatic and psychological burdens, and improving their overall quality of life. Future research should prioritize conducting additional high-quality RCTs to evaluate the usability and analyze the cost-effectiveness of mHealth technology.

Effectiveness of Home-Based Telerehabilitation Interventions for Dysphagia in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer: Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Multimodal treatment-induced dysphagia has serious negative effects on survivors of head and neck cancer. Owing to advances in communication technologies, several studies have applied telecommunication-based interventions that incorporate swallowing exercises, education, monitoring, feedback, self-management, and communication. It is especially urgent to implement home-based remote rehabilitation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the optimal strategy and effectiveness of remote interventions are unclear.

OBJECTIVE

This systematic review aimed to examine the evidence regarding the efficacy of telerehabilitation for reducing physiological and functional impairments related to swallowing and for improving adherence and related influencing factors among head and neck cancer survivors.

METHODS

The PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases were systematically searched up to July 2023 to identify relevant articles. In total, 2 investigators independently extracted the data and assessed the methodological quality of the included studies using the quality assessment tool of the Joanna Briggs Institute.

RESULTS

A total of 1465 articles were initially identified; ultimately, 13 (0.89%) were included in the systematic review. The quality assessment indicated that the included studies were of moderate to good quality. The results showed that home-based telerehabilitation improved the safety of swallowing and oral feeding, nutritional status, and swallowing-related quality of life; reduced negative emotions; improved swallowing rehabilitation adherence; was rated by participants as highly satisfactory and supportive; and was cost-effective. In addition, this review investigated factors that influenced the efficacy of telerehabilitation, which included striking a balance among swallowing training strategy, intensity, frequency, duration, and individual motor ability; treating side effects of radiotherapy; providing access to medical, motivational, and educational information; providing feedback on training; providing communication and support from speech pathologists, families, and other survivors; and addressing technical problems.

CONCLUSIONS

Home-based telerehabilitation has shown great potential in reducing the safety risks of swallowing and oral feeding, improving quality of life and adherence, and meeting information needs for dysphagia among survivors of head and neck cancer. However, this review highlights limitations in the current literature, and the current research is in its infancy. In addition, owing to the diversity of patient sociodemographic, medical, physiological and functional swallowing, and behavioral factors, we recommend the development of tailored telemedicine interventions to achieve the best rehabilitation effects with the fewest and most precise interventions.

Dysphagia Advances in Head and Neck Cancer

Purpose of Review

This review summarises the current literature regarding head and neck cancer-associated dysphagia. Up-to-date evidence for dysphagia outcome measurement for this population is provided, in addition to recent innovations that aim to prevent, reduce or remediate the common and debilitating side effects of treatment.

Recent Findings

Both patient-reported outcomes and clinical measures are necessary to capture the multi-dimensional nature of swallowing. A minimally important difference in scores has been calculated for some of these measures, to aid interpretation and powering of clinical trials. The number of dysphagia-related trials has increased, predominantly investigating optimal treatment for oropharyngeal HPV-positive disease, and speech and language pathology interventions using an impairment-based approach.

Summary

Although substantial progress has been made, further work is necessary to establish a consensus over outcome measures. Modifying treatments may improve outcomes. Several trials are underway to establish the effectiveness of speech and language pathology dysphagia interventions.

Feasibility and efficacy of telerehabilitation in the management of patients with head and neck cancer during and after oncological treatment: A systematic review

PURPOSE

The aim in this review was to evaluate recent advances in telerehabilitation for the management of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) during and after their oncological treatment.

METHODS

A systematic review was carried out in three databases (Medline, Web of Science and Scopus) in July 2022. The methodological quality of randomised clinical trials and quasi-experimental ones was assessed using the Cochrane tool (RoB 2.0) and the Critical Appraisal Checklists of the Joanna Briggs Institute, respectively.

RESULTS

14 out of 819 studies met the inclusion criteria: 6 studies were randomised clinical trials, 1 was a single-arm study with historical controls and 7 were feasibility studies. Most studies reported high participant satisfaction and efficacy of telerehabilitation used, in addition, no adverse effects were reported. None of the randomised clinical trials achieved a low overall risk of bias, whereas the methodological risk of bias of the quasi-experimental studies was low.

CONCLUSIONS

This systematic review demonstrates that telerehabilitation offers feasible and effective interventions for the patients with HNC follow-up, during and after their oncological treatment. It was observed that telerehabilitation interventions should be personalised according to the patient's characteristics and the stage of the disease. Further research on telerehabilitation to support caregivers as well as to carry out studies with a long-term follow-up of these patients are imperative.

Improving compliance with swallowing exercise to decrease radiotherapy-related dysphagia in patients with head and neck cancer

Objective

Dysphagia, one of the most common complications in head and neck cancer (HNC) treated with radiotherapy, can severely affect patients' quality of life. Currently, because no "gold standard" treatment exists, swallowing exercise remains the main rehabilitation strategy for dysphagia. However, patients' compliance with long-term swallowing exercise is only 40%, thus, greatly compromising outcomes. This article aims to analyze thefactors influencing swallowing exercise compliance in patients with HNC and explains strategies developed to date for improved rehabilitation outcomes.

Methods

Research studies published between 2005 and 2022 were retrieved from seven databases: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL, CNKI, Wan Fang Database, and VIP Database, and 21 articles were shortlisted and systematically reviewed.

Results

The swallowing exercise compliance in patients with HNC undergoing radiotherapy was affected by multiple factors, including socio-demographic factors, illness-associated factors, treatment-associated factors, and psychosocial factors. Regarding the interventions, current strategies mainly address psychosocial issues via developing various education programs.

Conclusions

Different factors influencing swallowing exercise compliance are important and should be observed. Measures including developing multidisciplinary teams, applying innovative equipment, refining the intervention procedure, and applying systematic theory frameworks should be performed to achieve better outcomes of compliance interventions.