Novita Research Report - 2004 to 2007 - Novita Children's Services

Project summaries15Evaluation of measurements, interventions, programs andclinical practice> Measurements/assessmentsNovita staff contributors highlighted in boldProject titleContributorsFundingSummaryPulse oximetry levels of children with cerebral palsy and dysphagia before, duringand after eating and drinking: A pilot studyEmma Colston, Kylie Opperman, Catherine Olsson, Dr Parimala Raghavendra,Sandra Stewart• Channel 7 Children’s Research FoundationFor many children with physical disabilities, eating and drinking requires significant effort.Respiratory distress during oral feeding has been observed in children with multipledisabilities and dysphagia. Pulse oximeters are small probes held against the finger or toethat measure pulse rate and calculate the amount of oxygen in the blood. It was thought thatchildren who have difficulty with swallowing may have changes in their breathing that couldbe seen through pulse oximetry monitoring.Research has shown that pulse oximetry monitoring is a safe, reliable, repeatable, noninvasiveand relatively inexpensive tool that adds value to the evaluation of dysphagia inadults with neurological difficulties. There is only limited research investigating the use ofpulse oximetry to monitor dysphagia in children with neurological disabilities, so this studyinvestigated its use as a clinical tool for assessment and management of dysphagia inchildren with cerebral palsy and dysphagia and provided exploratory data.MethodNine participants aged between five and 17 years were involved in the study. The participantswere clients of Novita Children’s Services who were:• Level IV or V on the Gross Motor Function Classification System for Cerebral Palsy• dependent on total assistance for eating and drinking• assessed by their Speech Pathologist as having pharyngeal or oesophageal stagedysphagia.Measurements of oxygen saturation levels and pulse rates were taken by the Nellcor 595pulse oximeter before, during and after three mealtimes at home for each participant.Observations were recorded and videotaped, including textures consumed, managementstrategies used, incidents of coughing and time taken for the meal.Providing assistance with eating