Pediatric aspect of dysphagia

Abstract

Pediatric dysphagia is specific because of the different developmental stages from the neonatal period to the infancy. Diagnosis and treatment will be different if it concerns a newborn or a young child having already experienced oral feeding. Furthermore, swallowing and feeding disorders, having a direct impact on the nourishment function of the parents, will have repercussions on the child–parents relationship. Swallowing disorders are frequently multifaceted, and impairments can be morphological, functional or induced. The assessment of these disorders includes anamnesis (reviewing family, medical, developmental, and feeding history), physical examination (searching for nutritional impact, cardiopulmonary state and looking for developmental anomalies or genetic dysmorphism), swallowing evaluation (analyzing oropharyngolaryngeal structure and function by observation, fiber-optic endoscopy, videofluoroscopy, ultrasonography), and feeding evaluation (implicating parents and caregivers). Management of these disorders is a complex task, thus an interdisciplinary team and recurrent assessments are required so as to match the child’s development and capacities. Its main aims are to prevent repercussions on developmental milestones and to assure the safety of the child and the psychological balance of child–parents relationship.