title: Survey of usual practice: dysphagia therapy in head and neck cancer patients.
abstract: There is no standardized dysphagia therapy for head and neck cancer patients and scant evidence to support any particular protocol, leaving institutions and individual speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to determine their own protocols based on "typical" practices or anecdotal evidence. To gain an understanding of current usual practices, a national internet-based survey was developed and disseminated to SLPs who treat head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. From a random sample of 4,000 ASHA SID13 members, 1,931 fit the inclusion criteria, and 759 complete responses were recorded for a 39.3 % response rate. Results were analyzed by institution type as well as by individual clinical experience. While some interesting trends emerged from the data, a lack of uniformity and consensus regarding best practices was apparent. This is undoubtedly due to a paucity of research adequately addressing the efficacy of any one therapy for dysphagia in the HNC population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, MA 02118, USA. gintas.krisciunas@bmc.org
authors.forename: Gintas P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Krisciunas
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sokoloff
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Stepas
authors.forename: Susan E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Langmore
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008404:Massachusetts / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013066:Speech-Language Pathology / Q000379:methods*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires