Table 1.
Visit Number |
First Visit |
Second Visit until Completion of SPP |
Posttreatment Visits |
Posttreatment Visits (by 2 months up to 4 total visits) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Visit time | 2 weeks before RT/CRT treatment | 1 week after start of treatment (weekly) | 1 month after RT/CRT treatment | 2 months after RT/CRT treatment |
Goals of visit | Swallow assessment, including diet recorded | Diet monitoring (encouragement of continued oral intake) | 1 month posttreatment diet recorded | 2 month posttreatment diet recorded by way of MBSS and swallow evaluations in clinic |
Treatment education (eg, expected side effects)/swallow program education | Compliance with exercises (based on competency level during first visit)/exercise education | Exercise education | Exercise education | |
Dietician referral (patients who are noted to have weight loss) | Signs of malnutrition are reported to oncologist | Weight recorded | Weight recorded |
Abbreviations: SPP, swallowing preservation protocol; MBSS, modified barium swallow study; RT/CRT, radiation/chemoradiation.
Patient’s weight, pain, compliance with swallow exercises, and diet were assessed at each follow-up period by the speech-language pathologist and recorded in the therapy progress notes.