Swallowing difficulties and early CNS injuries: correlation with the presence of axial skeletal deformities.

We reviewed the neurological findings in 36 adults with history of perinatal brain injury that required gastrostomy due to progressive swallowing difficulties in a population of 624 institutionalized patients. A stereotypic pattern of progression of deficits was observed. Risk factors that correlated with increased risk of swallowing disorders included: presence of multiple handicaps; progressive deformities of the spine and extremities; decreased range of motion of mandible, laterognathism and other mandibular asymmetries. These findings suggest that spinal deformities and swallowing difficulties are part of a spectrum of impaired function of paired axial muscles in this population. The identification of these risk factors may help in the long-term care plan of severely impaired patients whose survival is extended by the use of feeding tubes.