February 2008 Newsletter

drivers will evaluate the conditions of the roads and DiagnosTEX will contact all scheduled facilities immediately if we are unable to meet our schedule.  If the weather conditions are so severe, as not to put our staff at risk driving in to work, we will cancel the day and reschedule the facilities as promptly as possible. If bad weather begins to occur during the work day, the owner and the driver present on the mobile unit will decide together if any changes in the schedule should be made. Although all of the patients scheduled are extremely important, we do not want to risk the safety of our employees or vehicles to prevent further delay of our service to you due to injury or damaged vehicles. Even minor damage to the mobile vehicle can put us down for several days. It also very different than someone driving into one location and staying at that location all day versus our schedules that require driving all over the Dallas Forth Worth Metroplex and surrounding areas on various roads and bridges all day long, the risks becoming higher. Our decisions to run the vans that day may be based upon whether or not public schools are closed because of road conditions. Please drive carefully during these winter ice storms!
 

2008 Publications Look for our E-Stim research article being published in ADVANCE SLP, DOR, and LTC this new year in February – May of 2008.
 

Newsletters on Website –Since the newsletters are available on the website, I will not be sending out newsletter attachments on email anymore. Please see all of our up-to-date information at www.dysphagiadiagnostex.com  and go to the Clinical Café.  If you are looking for a specific topic, type your key word into the search box and will locate all newsletters and handouts that the topic is addressed in.
Wheelchairs – We often get asked what size wheelchairs we can accommodate.  In 3 of our vans, we can accommodate a 34 inch wheelchair (these measurements include the hand rails on the wheels, so please include this when measuring). On our back up van, we can accommodate a 28 inch wheelchair.  Please notify us before we schedule you, if the patient is in an extra large wheelchair, so we can make sure the van coming to your facility can accommodate the size. Also please realize there will be evaluation limitations with any neuro/geri chair, as we can not complete an AP view and sometimes the length causes limitations on the view of the oral cavity/phase. Putting the patient in a wheelchair will allow us to give you the most complete evaluation.  Also please evaluate the patient’s ability to be positioned prior to scheduling the MBSS, if we can not see the laryngeal space, pyriform sinuses, posterior vestibular wall, and VC due to positioning, we will not be able to adequately complete a study and/or determine the presence of aspiration. This will help us help you! Also please consider the following…. the pt must be upright for us to adequately assess the patient in the fluoro unit, therefore the diet recommendations we make are appropriate for the position the patient was evaluated in on the mobile unit, not laying in the bed or reclined in a chair.
NEW PT/FAMILY EDUCATION HANDOUT  Ask for our new family education sheet on Aspiration.
 

Dysphagia Tidbit – The following is current research studies recruiting patients or volunteers at http://clinicaltrails.gov

1. Volitional Swallowing in Stroke Patients with Chronic Dysphagia
   
2. Treatment of Dysphagia using the Mendelsohn Maneuver
   
3. Movement of the Epiglottis During Swallowing
   
4. Effects of Age and Age related Diseases on Swallowing
   
5. Efficacy of Voice Treatment for Parkinson’s Disease
   
6. Nutritional Therapy for Stroke Patients
   
7. Early Detection of Barrett’s Esophagus