Early detection of dysphagia and dysarthria in children with neuromuscular disorders: Diagnostic accuracy of a Screeninglist for Physicians

Development of an International SMA Bulbar Assessment for Inter-professional Administration

BACKGROUND

Progressive weakness can affect bulbar muscles in individuals with moderate to severe forms of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). The paucity of standardized, valid bulbar assessments capturing clinically significant deficits in SMA impedes the ability to monitor function, facilitate intervention, or detect treatment response.

OBJECTIVE

To fill this void, an international multidisciplinary team gathered to develop an agreed upon consensus-derived assessment of bulbar function in SMA for inter-professional administration to enhance our ability to monitor disease progression, support clinical management, and evaluate treatment effects.

METHODS

Fifty-six international clinicians experienced in SMA were invited and engaged using the Delphi method over multiple rounds of web-based surveys to establish consensus.

RESULTS

Serial virtual meetings occurred with 42 clinicians (21 speech and language therapists, 11 physical therapists, 5 neurologists, 4 occupational therapists, and 1 dentist). Seventy-two validated assessments of bulbar function were identified for potential relevance to individuals with SMA (32 accessible objective, 11 inaccessible objective, 29 patient-reported outcomes). Delphi survey rounds (n = 11, 15, 15) achieved consensus on individual items with relevance and wording discussed. Key aspects of bulbar function identified included: oral intake status, oral facial structure and motor strength, swallowing physiology, voice & speech, and fatigability.

CONCLUSIONS

Multidisciplinary clinicians with expertise in bulbar function and SMA used Delphi methodology to reach consensus on assessments/items considered relevant for SMA across all age groups. Future steps include piloting the new scale moving towards validation/reliability. This work supports the advancement of assessing bulbar function in children and adults with SMA by a variety of professionals.

Assessing Bulbar Function in Spinal Muscular Atrophy Using Patient-Reported Outcomes

BACKGROUND

Novel Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) treatments have demonstrated improvements on motor measures that are clearly distinct from the natural history of progressive decline. Comparable measures are needed to monitor bulbar function, which is affected in severe SMA.

OBJECTIVE

To assess bulbar function with patient-reported outcome measures (PROs) and determine their relationships with clinical characteristics.

METHODS

We recruited 47 non-ambulatory participants (mean (SD) age = 29.8 (13.7) years, range = 10.3-73.2) with SMA. PROs including Voice Handicap Index (VHI) and Eating Assessment Tool-10 (EAT-10) were collected alongside clinical characteristics and standardized motor assessments. Associations were assessed using Spearman correlation coefficients and group comparisons were performed using Wilcoxon rank sum tests.

RESULTS

A majority of the 47 participants were SMA type 2 (70.2%), non-sitters (78.7%), 3 copies of SMN2 (77.5%), and using respiratory support (66.0%). A majority (94%) reported voice issues primarily in 8/30 VHI questions. Problems included: difficulty understanding me in a noisy room (87.2%); difficult for people to hear me (74.5%); and people ask me to repeat when speaking face-to-face (72.3%). A majority (85.1%) reported swallowing issues primarily in 3/10 EAT-10 questions: swallowing pills (68.1%); food sticks to my throat (66.0%); and swallowing solids (61.7%). The two PROs were moderately associated (rs = 0.66).

CONCLUSIONS

Weaker individuals with SMA experience bulbar problems including difficulties with voice and swallowing. Further refinement and assessment of functional bulbar scales will help determine their relevance and responsiveness to changes in SMA. Additional study is needed to quantify bulbar changes caused by SMA and their response to disease-modifying treatments.

Dysphagia and Dysarthria in Children with Neuromuscular Diseases, a Prevalence Study

BACKGROUND

Dysphagia and dysarthria are frequently described in pediatric neuromuscular diseases (pNMD). The consequences can be substantial: failure to thrive, malnutrition, aspiration pneumonia, or communication problems. Early detection and identification of risk factors and etiology support preventing complications and morbidity, including impact on quality of life. Information about the prevalence of dysphagia and dysarthria in pNMD is scarce.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the pooled prevalence of dysphagia and dysarthria in pNMD in the Netherlands. In addition, we describe the prevalence of dysphagia and dysarthria each, and the prevalence of chewing (oral) and swallowing problems per diagnostic group, based on their anatomic origin.

METHODS

Data were collected from 295 children (mean age 11;0 years, range 2;6-18;0) with pNMD in 12 hospitals and rehabilitation centers in the Netherlands. A speech language therapist established whether dysphagia and dysarthria were present or not.

RESULTS

In almost all the 14 diagnostic groups of pNMD, dysphagia and dysarthria were present. Pooled overall prevalence of dysphagia and dysarthria was 47.2% and 31.5%, respectively. Of 114 children with dysphagia, 90.0% had chewing problems, 43.0% showed swallowing problems and 33.3% showed both chewing and swallowing problems.

CONCLUSIONS

The overall pooled prevalence of dysphagia and dysarthria was high in the population of pNMD. It can be argued that periodic monitoring of dysphagia and dysarthria and early referral to a speech language therapist should be a necessity from the start of the diagnosis in the whole pNMD population.