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VOLUME 14 , ISSUE 2 ( July-December, 2024 ) > List of Articles

BRIEF RESEARCH COMMUNICATION

Speech and Swallowing Deficits in Patients with Head and Neck Cancers Following Conventional Radiotherapy: Considerations in a Tertiary Care Setup

Banumathy Nagamani, Himanshu Verma, Roshani Mishra, Jaimanti Bakshi, Sushmita Ghoshal, Naresh K Panda

Keywords : Deglutition disorders, Dysphonia, Radiotherapy, Xerostomia

Citation Information : Nagamani B, Verma H, Mishra R, Bakshi J, Ghoshal S, Panda NK. Speech and Swallowing Deficits in Patients with Head and Neck Cancers Following Conventional Radiotherapy: Considerations in a Tertiary Care Setup. Int J Phonosurg Laryngol 2024; 14 (2):33-36.

DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10023-1258

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

Published Online: 15-11-2024

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2024; The Author(s).


Abstract

Objective: The present study investigates the prevalence of various speech and swallowing deficits in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients following radiotherapy (RT). Method: A total of 140 patients diagnosed with stage I and II head and neck cancers participated in the present study. To assess the speech, language and communication skills post-RT, a complete speech, and language test battery was administered. Results: The results of the present study revealed that after completion of radiotherapy, swallowing dysfunction increased to 59% from 15% pre-RT. Postradiotherapy intervention participants presented with various speech disorders, such as slurred speech (13%), voice disorder (26%), stuttering (1%), and trismus (1%). Conclusion: This is a preliminary study, which will serve as an eye-opener for the specialists in a multidisciplinary set-up to appropriately intervene the patients that will save the structures of swallowing, speech, and voice, thereby offering a better quality of life.

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