Prophylactic Swallowing Exercises in XXXX Radiotherapy.

@entity1 @entity135 @entity1282
UNASSIGNED: Many @entity135 ( @entity135 ) survivors experience reduced quality of life due to radiotherapy (RT)-related @entity1282 . The aim of this prospective randomized trial was to evaluate the impact of prophylactic swallowing exercises on swallowing-related outcomes in @entity135 @entity1 treated with curative RT. @entity1 treated with primary RT for @entity135 were candidates for this randomized protocol. @entity1 in the exercise group were instructed to perform swallowing exercises at home. @entity1 in the control group were given standard care. @entity1 were evaluated with modified barium swallow and several other secondary outcome measures at four and nine different time points, respectively. Data were analyzed according to intention-to-treat analyses. A total of 44 consecutive @entity1 were included; 22 in each group. In general, there was no difference between the two groups regarding any of the @entity1282 outcomes during and after treatment. Adherence to exercises was poor and dropouts due to especially fatigue were very frequent in both groups. Systematic swallowing exercises had no impact on swallowing outcomes within the first year after RT. Despite repeated supervised sessions, adherence to exercises was a major issue and dropouts were frequent in both the intervention and control group.
