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Swallowing disorders and dysphagia in children

The role of the medical team in the evaluation of children with dysphagia goes way beyond the prescription of medical and nonmedical treatment and the evaluation of the possibility of oral feeding. Swallowing disorders in children may compromise growth and development with significant compromise to the child’s general health, sometimes leading to multiple hospital admissions and diagnostic exams that expose the child to unnecessary risks, when ordered outside the context of a multidisciplinary approach. Most times dysphagia is multifactorial. Several pathologies a part from neurologic impairments may be involved as the main cause or a co-factor for swallowing disorders. Treatment may be medical, surgical or both, and some interventions may be needed even during follow-up due to consequences of long-term dysphagia. Specialists central to all multidisciplinary programs are: the otolaryngologist, the pneumologist, the gastroenterologist and the speech and language pathologist to ensure that evaluation of structural and functional aspects of the respiratory and digestive systems and its repercussions on the child’s general health have been encountered and will be continuously accounted for. This letter hopes to bringing attention to the need of a detailed and specialized medical evaluation of these children before and continuously during diagnosis and rehabilitation of these children.