Swallowing in Parkinson Patients versus Healthy Controls: Reliability of Measurements in Videofluoroscopy

Objective. To determine and describe the pathophysiological aspects of oropharyngeal swallowing in patients with Parkinson's disease more accurately, a pilot study of qualitative as well as quantitative parameters of swallowing was performed using videofluoroscopy (VFS). Methods. Ten patients with a diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson's disease having dysphagic complaints and ten healthy age- and gender-matched control subjects underwent a standardized videofluoroscopic swallowing protocol. Information on the swallowing function was derived from temporal, spatial, and descriptive visuoperceptual parameters. Intra- and interrater reliability was calculated. Results. No significant differences were found between Parkinson patients and healthy control subjects for the majority of the reliable variables. Conclusions. It was concluded that swallowing function seemed to be preserved in the early stages of Parkinson's disease. Furthermore, the reliability of many quantitative as well as qualitative swallowing parameters proved insufficient, raising questions about the interpretation of study outcomes in videofluoroscopy.