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Disorders of Sucking and Swallowing

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Textbook of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

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Abstract

Functional feeding skills, which depend on the integrity of anatomic structures, undergo change based on neurologic maturation and experimental learning. Eating/feeding requires active effort by infants who must have exquisite timing and coordination of sucking, swallowing, and breathing to be efficient.

A variety of neurological, neuromuscular conditions in children and infants can impair the physiological phases of sucking/swallowing and cause disorders of feeding and dysphagia. The causes of feeding and swallowing problems include combinations of structural deficits, neurologic conditions, respiratory compromise, feeder–child interaction dysfunction, and numerous medical conditions such as genetic, metabolic, and degenerative disease. The true epidemiology of pediatric dysphagia remains largely unassessed because of the lack of a standardized reporting system evaluating dysphagia in all of the possible contexts that may occur in infants and children.

The differential diagnosis of dysphagia in children is wide. The diagnostic work-up can be extremely difficult and exhaustive in many cases. Because of this complexity, multidisciplinary team evaluations should be conducted.

Optimal management strategies are critical for infants and children with feeding and swallowing problems. The management of swallowing dysfunction involves a team approach. Individuals involved in addition to the medical team include a swallowing expert (speech–language pathologist or occupational therapist), a nutritionist, and the family. Since swallowing abnormalities arise from a diverse group of underlying disorders, management techniques must be individualized.

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Additional Educational Resources:

  • Resource center: The Dysphagia Research Society is organized exclusively for charitable, educational and scientific purposes (http://www.dysphagiaresearch.org/) -this multidisciplinary website has a wealth of information on dysphagia, references to texts, archives, and links to other related sites; user friendly and very comprehensive.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Pediatrics, Department of Transitional Medical Science, University of Naples “Federico II”, Via S. Pansini 5, 80131, Naples, Italy

    Francesca Paola Giugliano, Erasmo Miele & Annamaria Staiano

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  1. Francesca Paola Giugliano
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  2. Erasmo Miele
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  3. Annamaria Staiano
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Stefano Guandalini

  2. Clinical Director Child Health King’s College Hospital, Professor and Director Pediatric Liver, GI and Nutrition Center, London, United Kingdom

    Anil Dhawan

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Hebrew University Hadassah Hospital, Jerusalem, Israel

    David Branski

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Giugliano, F., Miele, E., Staiano, A. (2016). Disorders of Sucking and Swallowing. In: Guandalini, S., Dhawan, A., Branski, D. (eds) Textbook of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17169-2_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17169-2_20

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