Frequency of swallowing and food complaints during shared consultation in oncological palliative care

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose to identify the frequency of swallowing and feeding complaints in cancer patients in palliative care, and to associate them with clinical and functional data. Methods cross-sectional and descriptive study, carried out with cancer patients treated during shared consultation in a palliative care outpatient clinic, through speech-language pathology screening, protocols and scales, with statistical analysis of the obtained data. Results Sample consisted of 52 subjects, seen during 8 months, with a mean age of 66.7 years, PSS (Palliative Performance Scale) a mean of 57.5. The topography of the most frequent neoplasm was the gastrointestinal tract and the treatment was surgery and associated chemotherapy and radiotherapy . Complaints identified at screening were categorized into swallowing and feeding. Thus, swallowing was the most frequent and a large part of the sample required a functional assessment of swallowing. Only the association between swallowing complaints and the topography of the gastrointestinal tract showed a significant statistical relationship. Swallowing complaints were more frequent in those undergoing radiotherapy and with lower percentages on the PPS scale. Conclusion swallowing complaints were the most frequent and the associations made it possible to relate them to the location of the tumor, and to identify their frequency according to cancer treatment and terminal functional decline.