title: The influence of laterality of pharyngeal bolus passage on Dysphagia in hemiplegic stroke patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate swallowing laterality in hemiplegic patients with stroke and recovery of dysphagia according to the laterality.
  
  
  METHODS
  The sample was comprised of 46 dysphagic patients with hemiplegia after their first stroke. The sample's videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) was reviewed. Swallowing laterality was determined by the anterior-posterior view of VFSS. We measured width difference of barium sulfate liquid flow in the pharyngoesophageal segment. If there was double or more the width of that from the opposite width in the pharyngoesophageal segment more than twice on three trials of swallowing, then it was judged as having laterality. Subjects were assigned to no laterality (NL), laterality that is ipsilateral to hemiplegic side (LI), and laterality that is contralateral to hemiplegic side (LC) groups. We measured the following: prevalence of aspiration, the 8-point penetration-aspiration scale, and the functional dysphagia scale of the subjects at baseline and follow up.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Laterality was observed in 45.7% of all patients. Among them, 52.4% were in the hemiplegic direction. There was no significant difference between groups at baseline in all measurements. When we compared the changes in all measurements on follow-up study, there were no significant differences between groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Through this study, we found that there was no significant relation between swallowing laterality and the severity or prognosis of swallowing difficulty. More studies for swallowing laterality on stroke patients will be needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, College of Medicine, Dankook University, Cheonan 330-715, Korea.
authors.forename: Min Seok
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seong Jae
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Tae Uk
authors.initials: TU
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dong Hyuk
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Jung Keun
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Hyun
authors.forename: Jae Il
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Kim