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Swallow Safety in Infant Pigs With and Without Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Lesion

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Abstract

Aerodigestive coordination is critical for safe feeding in mammals, and failure to do so can result in aspiration. Using an infant pig model, we analyzed the impact of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) lesion on aerodigestive coordination and swallow safety at two time points prior to weaning. We used high-speed videofluoroscopy to record 23 infant pigs longitudinally at two ages (7 days, 17 days) feeding on barium milk. We measured respiration with a plethysmograph and used the Infant Mammalian Penetration–Aspiration Scale (IMPAS) to identify unsafe swallows. We tested for changes in swallow safety longitudinally in control and lesion pigs, and whether there was any interaction between the four different groups. On postnatal day 7, lesioned pigs exhibited differences in the frequency distribution of IMPAS scores relative to control pigs on day 7, and 17 day old lesion and control pigs. There were longitudinal changes in performance following RLN lesion through time, suggesting that the impact of RLN lesion decreases with time, as older lesioned pigs performed similarly to older control pigs. We found minimal differences in the impact of aerodigestive coordination on swallow safety, with shorter delays of inspiration onset reflecting higher rates of penetration in young lesioned pigs. Healthy pigs aspirated at a similar rate to those with an RLN lesion indicating that the occasional occurrence of dysphagia in infants may be a normal behavior.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Ashley Ballester and the CMU at NEOMED for their extensive support of this project, as well as two anonymous reviewers of the manuscript.

Funding

This project was funded by NIH R01 HD088561 to R.Z.G.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), Rootstown, OH, 44272, USA

    Bethany M. Stricklen, Laura E. Bond, Rebecca Z. German & Christopher J. Mayerl

  2. Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford, NJ, USA

    Francois D. H. Gould

Authors
  1. Bethany M. Stricklen
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  2. Laura E. Bond
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  3. Francois D. H. Gould
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  4. Rebecca Z. German
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  5. Christopher J. Mayerl
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Contributions

Study design: BMS, RZG, FDHG and CJM. Performed data collection: All authors. Processed data: BMS. Analyzed data: BMS, RZG and CJM. Wrote manuscript: BMS and CJM. Provided comments on manuscript: All authors.

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Correspondence to Christopher J. Mayerl.

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Stricklen, B.M., Bond, L.E., Gould, F.D.H. et al. Swallow Safety in Infant Pigs With and Without Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Lesion. Dysphagia 35, 978–984 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-020-10099-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-020-10099-x

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