Videofluorography of the pharynx in patients suffering from aspiration pneumonia

We evaluated videofluorographic recordings of the pharynx (VF) in patients suffering from aspiration pneumonia. The patients consisted of 55 men and 6 women who consulted the ENT Department at Kumamoto University Hospital between May 1994 and February 2002. Surgery for an upper alimentary tract malignancy (16 patients) was the most frequent background feature. The number of patients with cerebrovasucular disease and neuronal/neuromuscular diseases were 11 and 12, respectively. VF enabled the misswallowing of barium into the trachea to be visualized in 38 patients. Of these 38 patients, 20 exhibited misswallowing during or after the pharyngeal stage of swallowing. Among the 23 patients in whom misswallowing was not detected, 13 had upper alimentary tract diseases. The VF findings suggested the presence of gastroesophageal clearance after swallowing. Gastro-esophageal regurgitation may be a significant factor, in addition to the silent aspiration of oral and pharyngeal secretions during the night as a trigger of recurrent aspiration pneumonia.