An overview of flexible endoscopic swallowing examination in the pediatric patients with suspected dysphagia

Children's eating and swallowing ability is dynamic and is closely related to the growth processes. Anatomical structure during growth can impact the maturity of swallowing ability. Disruption of the swallowing process may cause dysphagia. This study is a descriptive cross-sectional design involving 54 subjects with consecutive sampling to assess the difficulties with swallowing and feeding. This study used the flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) and assessed the characteristics of the subjects including age, gestation length age, caregivers, symptoms, complications, and medical disorders. This study showed the prevalence of dysphagia was 63% in children with suspected dysphagia. Dysphagia symptoms in children <6 months included apnea during bottle/breast feeding (7/34). In children >6 months, postural impairment (10/34), drooling (6/34), and coughing while eating (8/34) were the symptoms of dysphasia. Underlying diseases included structural anomaly (5/34), cardiopulmonary-larynx disorder (24/34), and neurological disorders (23/43). Complications included gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) (12/34), failure to thrive (10/34), and aspiration pneumonia (3/34). In FESS examination, standing secretion (22/34) and impaired tongue movement (20/34) indicated dysphagia. Residue was more common occur in gastric rice consistency (44.7%), penetration in thin liquid (44.2 %) and aspiration in thick liquid (34.8%).