Ultrasonographic evaluation of piecemeal deglutition in normal adults

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the range of multiple swallowing in normal subjects by ultrasonography. METHODS Twenty-two normal subjects swallowed 5 or 10 ml of tap water or a semisolid meal. RESULTS With water multiple swallows were seen in 41% of the subjects examined and was related to the volume of the bolus:18% of the cases were 5 ml and 36% were 10 ml. Sixty-eight percent of subjects had multiple swallows with semisolid boluses. CONCLUSION These results differ from those reported with videofluoroscopy of modified barium swallowing. Ultrasonography should be used in future studies of normal and pathological oral swallowing.