Effect of Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure on The Pharyngeal Swallow in Neonates

Deglutition Disorders Clinical Trial

Official title:

Effect of Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure on The Pharyngeal Swallow in Neonates

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02661256
• Other study ID #: WUH 14018
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: June 2014
• Est. completion date: September 2015

Study information

• Verified date: September 2019
• Source: NYU Langone Health
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Oral feeding of neonates while on nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) is a common practice in many neonatal intensive care units (NICU) all over the country. However the safety of such practice has never been established. The Investigators hypothesize that mechanoreceptors, which should perceive sensory input from the liquid bolus, may be altered by the reception of pressurized airflow provided by the NCPAP, hence increase risk of aspiration. In this study, changes in the pharyngeal phase of swallowing were identified using video fluoroscopic swallow studies (VFSS) for infants while on NCPAP as compared to off NCPAP.

Description:

Preterm infants with underdeveloped lungs and term infants with cardio-respiratory illness frequently need to be placed on ventilatory assistance. Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (NCPAP) has been proven to be an effective mode of noninvasive ventilation in neonates, as it delivers positive pressure to the airway throughout the respiratory cycle. NCPAP works by improving the breathing pattern in neonates; it increases the mean airway pressure, stents the upper airway, decreases proximal airway resistance, reduces physiological dead space, optimizes lung recruitment and improves diaphragmatic function. While many infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) require NCPAP, many of their other medical and developmental needs such as initiating oral feedings need to be addressed. Oral feeding of neonates while on NCPAP is a common practice in many NICUs, however the effect of such practice on neonatal swallowing mechanism has never been investigated.

Swallowing is a complex sensorimotor function that allows infant to safely and effectively ingest liquid nutrition. The ability of an infant to successfully feed is dependent on the precise interconnection of anatomy, physiology and neurology pathways. Afferent sequences play an integral role in the infant swallowing mechanism as sensory feedback is required during all phases of swallowing to allow appropriate positioning of anatomic structures, as well as to modulate the strength, velocity, and timing of muscle contractions. Sensory information is received from various types of sensory receptors distributed throughout the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx and esophagus. Localized areas of the infant's anatomy are known to have particular types of sensory receptors that are excited by specific stimuli which elicit appropriate motor movements.

One of the most densely populated sensory receptors are the mechanoreceptors which are sensitive to touch and pressure to help decipher the shape, texture, size and temperature of the bolus about to be swallowed. The mechanoreceptors are also sensitive to the pressure and movement of air flow during breathing.

The sensations perceived by these receptors are responsible for sending afferent sensory information to the medullary region of the brainstem where they are processed by the central pattern generators (CPGs). CPGs are composed of dedicated networks of interneurons that are responsible to sequence and activate different motor neurons at specified intensities to generate motor patterns. Both the swallowing CPG and the respiratory CPG are housed within the medulla. The close proximity of these neurons allows for precise swallow and breathing coordination. A close interrelationship between the swallowing and respiratory processes is further evident as they encompass shared anatomic structures and muscular components within the pharynx, and act as physiologically and biomechanically reciprocal events.

This close interrelationship between swallowing and breathing has led to some controversy and difference in opinion among neonatologists on the decision to start oral feedings while on NCPAP. Although there is no research directly related to the effect of NCPAP on swallowing process in neonates, NCPAP has been reported to induce dilatation of the laryngeal opening in preterm infants and inhibit the swallow reflex in adults.

For preterm infants, some neonatologists advocate initiation of oral feeds at 34 weeks gestational age, even if they require NCPAP; others strictly wait for NCPAP to be discontinued before oral feeding is established, fearing that infants may have difficulty coordinating breathing and swallowing acts, resulting in airway compromise. For term infants, many propose that oral feedings can be established once physiologic stability is demonstrated, either with or without NCPAP. Such controversies exist due to lack of evidence on the effect(s) of NCPAP on swallowing safety in human neonates.

To our knowledge no studies have been completed on human infants to evaluate the effect of NCPAP on the pharyngeal swallowing mechanism. Previous studies utilizing neonatal lambs, revealed that the application of NCPAP had no deleterious effect on cardiopulmonary safety, feeding efficiency and on nutritive swallowing- breathing coordination.

This study was designed with the aim to effectively assess the effects of NCPAP on the pharyngeal swallow mechanism in human neonates. The investigators hypothesize that the presence of NCPAP will lead to alterations in the sensorimotor sequence of the pharyngeal swallowing mechanism, increasing the risk for airway compromise and aspiration. The mechanoreceptors, which perceive sensory input from the liquid bolus, may be altered by the reception of continuous stream of airflow, provided by the NCPAP.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 7
• Est. completion date: September 2015
• Est. primary completion date: August 2015
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 34 Weeks to 45 Weeks

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Infants in neonatal ICU requiring NCPAP and tolerating at least 50% of their total required intake by mouth from a bottle, as determined by their medical team.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Infants with other comorbidity such as upper airway anomalies, brain injury neuromuscular disease, life threatening congenital disease. Any symptomatic intercurrent acute disease e.g. infectious disease

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Deglutition Disorders
• Newborn, Premature
• Premature Birth
• Respiratory Aspiration
• Respiratory Distress Syndrome In Premature Infants
• Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult
• Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Newborn

Intervention

Device:
• NCPAP
Does NCPAP induce dysphagia in neonates? Each baby will be evaluated for dysphagia (using fluoroscopy) while on NCPAP and off NCPAP.

Dietary Supplement:
• Varibar® Thin Liquid Barium Sulfate for Suspension
Liquid barium is used as a contrast material to allow visualization of swallowed boluses under fluoroscopy.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
n/a

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
NYU Langone Health

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Pharyngeal Phase Dysphagia	presence of atypical or disordered movements during the pharyngeal phase of swallowing	<5 seconds post swallow trigger
Secondary	Tracheal Aspiration	the occurrence of barium below the level of the true vocal cords	<5 seconds post swallow trigger
Secondary	Percentage of Laryngeal Length	Will be measuredmeasured by deep penetration, the occurrence of barium underneath the epiglottis, in the laryngeal vestibule to the level of the vocal folds	<2 seconds post swallow trigger
Secondary	Silent Aspiration	The occurrence of barium below the level of the vocal folds (aspiration) with no occurrence of cough (silent). This is a measure of absence of a cough during aspiration (silent aspiration).	<5 seconds post swallow trigger
Secondary	Nasopharyngeal Reflux	the occurrence of barium detected in the nasopharynx, posterior or superior to the velum	<2 seconds post swallow trigger
Secondary	Pharyngeal Residue	the presence of residual barium coating the pharyngeal walls, pooling in the vallecula or pyriform sinuses post swallow (absent/mild/severe). This measure is subjective (mild = light coating and sever = significant coating of residual barium).	<5 seconds post swallow trigger