Distribution of causes and treatments of dysphagia at dysphasia/dysphagia rehabilitation clinic of Showa University Dental Hospital: 1999-2002.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution of causes of dysphagia and the types of treatments being provided at the Dysphasia/Dysphagia Rehabilitation Clinic of Showa University Dental Hospital. The subjects included 173 dysphagic patients. Fifty-three percent of patients ranged 0-12 age, and 24% of them were over 60 years old. The survey results showed that diseases of the central nervous system, such as cerebral palsy (CP), was a major diagnosis in young patients, and cerebrovascular accident (CVA) was a predominant cause in adult and elderly patients. Diagnosis distribution showed that swallowing dysfunction was the most frequent diagnosis for patients on their first visit when compared to other feeding dysfunctions including malfunction of lips, tongue, and mastication. Almost 40 % of patients still continue to have rehabilitation for their dysphagic symptoms at the end of March 2002. This suggests that dysphagia rehabilitation is needed for a long time for many disabled individuals.