Oropharyngeal dysphagia and motor and cervical involvement in children with Epilepsy

• Grant number: 22/00189-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2022
• End date: December 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Speech Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Luciana Vitaliano Voi Trawitzki
• Grantee: Thaís Silva Dias
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto (FMRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The occurrence of epilepsy in children is considered a risk factor for delays in neuropsychomotor development and eating difficulties. Motor, postural and cervical conditions can influence the biomechanics of swallowing and relate to dysphagia severity. Objective: to analyze the association between cervical control and swallowing changes, and to correlate dysphagia severity with the global motor condition. Materials and methods: the retrospective study, approved by the Institution's Ethics Committee (CAAE: 42808021.5.0000.5440) will be carried out through the analysis of electronic medical records and registration of the speech therapy protocol of the service, of children and teenagers between 2 and 18 years old, assisted at the Difficult Control Child Epilepsy Outpatient Clinic, at the Child Neurology Service of the Hospital das Clínicas, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto-FMRP (HC-Criança). Information will be collected on speech-language evolution, referring to swallowing, and medical evolution between the period of September 2018 to August 2020, about the epileptic condition, the delay in neuropsychomotor development, the global motor condition, the assessment of the oral motor system, and the functional assessment of swallowing in children attended at the clinic, as well as dysphagia severity. The collected data will be attached to an excel spreadsheet and later statistically analyzed using the Chi-square Test or Fisher's Exact Test and Spearman's Correlation Test. It will be considered significant p<0.05.(AU)