Improvement of swallowing function in patients with non-inclusion body myositis using Food Intake LEVEL Scale; A single-centre retrospective study

Abstract

Abstract Objective. To compare long-term swallowing function outcomes between inclusion body myositis (IBM) and non-IBM patients with dysphagia using the Food Intake LEVEL Scale (FILS). Methods. We retrospectively assigned consecutive patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) from April 2000 to March 2022 who were diagnosed with IIM according to the 2017 American College of Rheumatology/European League Against Rheumatism criteria, and divided them into IBM and non-IBM patients. The primary endpoint was to compare the 1-year swallowing function outcomes between the IBM and non-IBM patients with dysphagia using the FILS after the onset of dysphagia. Results. Of the 108 patients, 18 patients had dysphagia (IBM=3, non-IBM=15). The baseline FILS scores in IBM and non-IBM patients with dysphagia were similar; however, the FILS scores at the 1-year follow-up and last observation in non-IBM patients with dysphagia were significantly higher than those with IBM. The incidence of aspiration pneumonia during observation period was significantly lower in non-IBM patients with dysphagia than in IBM patients. The 5-year survival rate was significantly lower in the non-IBM patients with dysphagia than in the IBM patients. Conclusion. The swallowing function of non-IBM patients with dysphagia improved compared to those with IBM despite their survival rate was very low.