Dysphagia in paediatric acquired brain injury – prevalence, outcomes and impact of lesion sites on recovery

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Glisson, E., Smith, M., Pagnamenta, E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4703-3163 and Pontikas, G. (2026) Dysphagia in paediatric acquired brain injury – prevalence, outcomes and impact of lesion sites on recovery. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology. ISSN 1469-8749 (In Press)

Abstract/Summary

Aim: To explore the prevalence and outcomes of dysphagia in paediatric acquired brain injury, associated with aetiology, unilateral and bilateral injury and brain regions involved, while considering age, sex and length of stay. Method: 85 children with acquired brain injury (50 males, 35 females; 0.5-16y, mean 8y 2m, SD 5y 3m) were included in this observational study (24 traumatic brain injury (TBI), 23 stroke/vascular, 8 hypoxic/ischaemic, 15 infection, 8 autoimmune, 7 other). Dysphagia at admission and discharge was recorded, MRI review identified lesion laterality and regions involved. One-year follow-up evaluated recovery in children with dysphagia at discharge. Results: Dysphagia prevalence at admission varied (TBI 83%, stroke/vascular 52%, hypoxic 100%, infection 87%, autoimmune 63%, other 43%), decreasing at discharge (TBI 33%, stroke/vascular 8%, hypoxic 87%, infection 13%, autoimmune 25%, other 0%). At admission, 97.6% of children with bilateral injury presented with dysphagia, compared to 47.7% with unilateral injury. All children with unilateral injury had resolved dysphagia at discharge, compared to 47.5% with bilateral injury. Children with both cortical and subcortical injury showed low resolution of dysphagia at discharge (33%). Interpretation: Dysphagia is prevalent in paediatric acquired brain injury. Bilateral injuries, particularly involving cortical and subcortical regions, are associated with persistent dysphagia.

Item Type Article
URI https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/129918
Refereed Yes
Divisions Interdisciplinary Research Centres (IDRCs) > Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism (CeLM)
Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Clinical Language Sciences
Publisher Wiley
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