ABSTRACT:

Background: Survival of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) has improved considerably in recent decades due to improved public health awareness and the use of management strategies, such as radiotherapy or surgery. With an increase in the number of long-term survivors of HNC, there has been and increase in the amount of attention paid to and emphasis placed on the sequelae of HNCs and adverse effects of managing them.

Objectives: This study aimed to describe swallowing outcomes in patients with HNC through subjective and objective assessments and identify risk factors for the worsening of dysphagia.

Method: A retrospective, cross-sectional, observational study was done and included patients who had visited the otorhinolaryngology outpatient clinic of National Cheng Kung University Hospital (NCKUH) with a complaint of difficulty swallowing and had undergone VFSSs between January 2016 and March 2021.

Results: A combined use of multiple measures may help healthcare professionals to evaluate patients’ swallowing function more comprehensively and hence aid in early identification of dysphagia. The study implied that early identification of dysphagia could be clinically significant, as it could facilitate early intervention or management to prevent further complications.

Conclusion: The findings of the study indicated that compared to exclusively using only a single tool, complementary application of both subjective and objective assessments may improve evaluations of dysphagia in patients with HNC.

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