As busy SLPs SLP-ing, we could all use a little R&R. But who has the time these days?!? And how do you even do it? Here, relevant research articles are reviewed, summarized, and discussed by yours truly to improve knowledge, advocacy, and clinical care for OUR patients!
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R-E-S-P-E-C-T for LVC: Laryngeal Vestibule Closure in the Spotlight
Title: Descriptive Review Authors: Vose & Humbert Journal: Dysphagia Year of Publication: 2018 Design Type: Descriptive Review Purpose: “The purpose of this review is to promote a better understanding of the mechanism of laryngeal vestibule closure.”
Only got a sec?
Laryngeal vestibular closure has multiple components that play a critical role in airway protection and can easily be overlooked in studies and clinical settings
Only got a minute?
“LVC is the first line of defense for preventing material from penetrating the airway during swallowing and is distinct from true and false vocal-fold closure, which serves as a secondary defense”
“This complex mechanism relies on precise movements of several key structures the tongue, pharynx, larynx, and hyoid bone to achive complete closure of the laryngeal vestibule”
“Normal variability in patterns of laryngeal closure also varies according to the mode of delivery”
“Timing analysis requires access to frame-by-frame review of videofluoroscopic images..Underutilization of these techniques is a barrier to clinicians’ ability to accurately diagnose and treat LVC..proper evaluation of swallowing events during videofluoroscopy requires a minimum temporal resolution of 30 frames per second”
Got more time? Keep reading!!
Let’s hear it for laryngeal vestibule closure y’all!! Are you wondering what it is? Do you want to know more about it? Then here’s your article folks to help you understand the whats,hows, and whys of this frequently fatal part of the swallowing mechanism that many might glance over like a stack of bills or junk mail.
Before you jump ship after reading the multisyllabic long phrase “laryngeal vestibule closure,” this article is a descriptive review—meaning there’s NO methods, results, fancy-schmancy charts with numbers and weird symbols (okay there are tables but mostly from cool references). So you may actually be able to sit down and relaaaax while reading it😊…(maybe).
I honestly had some internal debate if I should even write this article and not just type “Goread itNOW!” (or at least ask the authors to read it!). The article gives such an amazing review and overview of the laryngeal sequences making me somewhat more ashamed of the ONE dysphagia course I had in grad school where I essentially heard “this flap thing moves over your voicebox to close so something doesn’t go down the wrong tube.” Yes, you’re gonna need a basic understanding and possibly read it line-by-line at some points, but it’s totally worth it to get that stroke of inspiration.😉
Many of us have educated patients and families on what a “safe” swallow is (aka nothing going down your windpipe) and possible consequences from unsafe swallowing (aspiration, pneumonia, etc.). And during this “Dysphagia Revolution” (new term I’ve coined the past couple decades because just check out the crazy number of publications lately!), we’ve learned a lot about the different components of swallowing physiology like pharyngeal residue, anterior hyoid excursion, upper esophageal sphincter relaxation, etc.
What exactly is LVC?
“LVC is the first line of defense for preventing material from penetrating the airway during swallowing and is distinct from true and false vocal-fold closure, which serves as a secondary defense.” p. 2
Hopefully, most of us got at least the gist of general airway protection and how it comprises of 4 levels during normal swallowing: true vocal folds–false vocal folds–epiglottic inversion–forward/inward movement of arytenoids (if not check out the full article for a review!!!).
“Despite considerable overlap in the timing of these events, in videofluoroscopic images, the closure of the laryngeal vestibule space has been described as occurring by a compression from ‘‘bottom to top.’’ This occurs first at the supraglottic followed by the subepiglottic space in a peri-staltic-like motion that can clear the vestibule or squeeze out bolus material that has penetrated the area to avoid aspiration below the vocal folds.” p. 2
But why is LVC so special and not just lumped together as one thing? I’ll be honest and say that I was not nearly as aware as I thought of all the multiple parts that make it up🥴…
In order to do its job, LVC is basically at the mercy of the movements and timing of arytenoid adduction + approximation to the base of the epiglottis + epiglottic inversion (which happens only from tongue base retraction+hyolaryngeal excursion+pharyngeal constriction).
So what if one of those is impaired? Does it even make a difference or can LVC still “keep calm and carry on?”
The answer to this is just what the article gets us thinking about:
“In order to fully understand this mechanism, it is necessary to understand which component(s) are critical for achieving complete closure. Currently, it is unclear if each component is equally valuable, or if one holds more importance for the function to happen.” p.2
If you’re like me and always craving to get a better grasp on this sticky-web-of-swallowing, then you’d feel happy as a clam learning more about each of these components🤓:
Arytenoid Adduction+Anterior Movement
“Anterior tilting of the arytenoid cartilages has been suggested as one of the most important contributors to closure of the laryngeal vestibule… arytenoid movement is not a biomechanical effect of laryngeal elevation and is under separate, active neuro-muscular control” p.2
Basically, arytenoids don’t move just because of something else making them move (aka elevation), and is actually controlled by the brain, making muscles move to cause this action.
Don’t forget about the aryepiglottic folds! “These lateral folds act as ‘walls’ allowing for the bolus to pass between the aryepiglottic folds and the lateral pharyngeal wall” and get their “stiffness” from the corniculate and cuneiform cartilages (think water slides that separate the wave pool from the glottis from the lazy river pyriforms).
Epiglottic Inversion
How does that leafy thing move? Magic? Nope.
Think it only moves from a the mere weight of a bolus? Not completely (while contributory, it can also happen with less heavy boluses).
“Inversion of the epiglottis is primarily a passive movement that has been described as a two-step procedure, [1] moving from an upright position to a horizontal plane, then [2] moving from the horizontal position to its fully inverted position.” p.3
There’s no way I could come close to the awesome illustration the article provides for this movement (seriously, check out the article!), the closest I can come up with is this and it still doesn’t portray all the different moving parts:
Yeah yeah, the epiglottis moves across different planes (vertical–horizontal), we got that. But, did you realize that there are multiple and specific movements for this? Do you know what their role is in LVC? To quote Tim Gunn from Project Runway, it’s to simply:
Base of tongue retraction
“Tongue Base Retraction, or posterior propulsion of the tongue, contributes to closure of the laryngeal vestibule by facilitating posterior and downward movement of the epiglottis to a horizontal position.” p.3
Hyoid Anterior Excursion
This one’s a doozy and can turn into another hot topic. Apparently, hyoid elevation does NOT have to happen in order to have LVC (you can thank the authors and others for that info from previous studies using surface e-stim on supra+infra hyoid musculature to cause decreased elevation). Others have also come out to declare and help us get it out of our heads that we need to be bowing down to the almighty elevating hyoid:
“Although hyoid excursion might correlate with epiglottic movement, hyoid movement alone does not generate either stage of epiglottic inversion when laryngeal elevation or tongue base retraction is impaired.” p.3
Pharyngeal shortening+contraction
“The final movement of the epiglottis includes movement from the horizontal position to its fully inverted position with the epiglottis tip contacting the arytenoid base, which is accomplished by pharyngeal constriction..Contraction of the pharyngeal constrictors provides compression on the tip of the epiglottis to further aid its inversion.” p.3
Okay, but what’s all this really saying?
LVC needs separate parts to help contribute to it. While we don’t necessarily know which component is mostcritical for it to fully do its job, we do have a better understanding that hyoid excursion does NOT need to be a bolus hog getting all the credit. Actually, it doesn’t even need to be on the court and can actually sit out while the other players be their all-star selves.🏅
The next question the article tackles is, how exactly do we observe this?🤔
If you’re thinking FEES……
Sorry😕. While FEES can absolutely be a stupendous tool for many things, it’s more likely to be a no-go contender due to the “white out” period where you are less likely to visualize the closure of the glottis (and with it LVC) as the epiglottis covers this image and indirect clinical judgments/assumptions are relied on (at least that’s the idea…).
So we’re left with MBSS/VFSS where the authors explain 2 important aspects for LVC. This is actually where I had my “aha” moment after always seeing the terms “LVCd” and “LVCrt” in a bunch of other research articles:
range of motion – amount of closure by visualizing the amount of airspace obliterated within the vestibule at the height of the swallow
timing – duration of closure and the duration to closure (yes that’s just a fancy way of saying “how long it’sclosed” and “how long it takes to close“)
I (along with a bunch of researchers I bet) wish there was a quick-and-easy standardized way to judge these 2 factors, but sadly the article hints at why nothing worth having comes easy (or free):
“The PAS [Penetration Aspiration Scale] is not useful for evaluating LVC because the PAS does not determine the physiologic impairment that causes airway invasion.” p.4
That’s where the MBSImP comes in to save the day by at least categorizing LVC into either “complete” “incomplete” or “no closure.”
Sometimes, timing just gets the best of us…..
If you’re trying to advocate for better fluoro measures and images in Radiology, then this article should be put in your folder to bust out, so I’m just gonna leave these here…
“Duration of laryngeal vestibule closure is a measure of how long the laryngeal vestibule maintains complete closure.”
“Duration to laryngeal vestibule closure is a measure of how quickly the laryngeal vestibule closes once the swallow is initiated, and is measured by calculating the time between the first frame of hyoid burst and the first frame of laryngeal vestibule closure.” p.4
“Timing analysis requires access to frame-by-frame review of video-fluoroscopic images and some clinicians may not have the ability to record videofluoroscopy for secondary review due to lack of equipment or limited access to archived materials…thus, poor access can be a significant barrier to best practice.” p.5
“Underutilization of these techniques is a barrier to clinicians’ ability to accurately diagnose and treat LVC…proper evaluation of swallowing events during videofluoroscopy requires a minimum temporal resolution of 30 frames per second.”p.5
[also checkout this quick awesome link for more info on frame rates by one of the greats, Dr. Steele as well as the Swallowing Training & Education Portal for Dr. Humbert’s innovative masterclass on these measures!]
Now that we got that outta the way…
The authors do an awesome job explaining and providing a small but super-useful chart to help all those Video-Fluoroscopic-Swallow-Studiers (new name?) get some normative values and just how the research came to somewhat agree on this variability of “normal” when it comes to timing of LVC.
If that wasn’t awesome enough or if you didn’t think using norms is important, be sure to check out Steele and colleagues’ more currentreferences for normative valuesthat includes LVC (and one that the author even uses😉).
Is it Normal, or Not Normal? That is the question…
When it comes to this debate, we actually should give ourselves credit for coming so far in distinguishing all the factors that can change different responses like in pharyngoesophageal opening, transit time, etc. during the swallowing mechanism.
But what is normal LVC? Well, as Jan Brady understands, nobody really pays as much attention to it in the research world. We don’t know yet how things like temperature, age, consistency, etc. may impact LVC.
Here’s what we do know so far about normal LVC:
“Studies that have reported factors that influence LVC timing have shown that duration of LVC increases with increasing bolus volume and increases with the time the bolus remains in the pharynx, yet none of these studies reported a change in duration to LVC.” p.6
“Normal variability in patterns of laryngeal closure also varies according to the mode of delivery. In healthy individuals using sequential straw swallows, some exhibit a pattern of maintaining LVC throughout sequential swallows, while others demonstrate hyolaryngeal descent and opening of the laryngeal vestibule between sequential swallows” p.6
If you’d like to help out the authors, next time you’re watching that bolus head down with “complete” LVC closure and notice that puree or colder bolus helped close that airway, give ’em a holla so they can do what they do best for giving us clinicians more answers! 😀
Don’t we have a say in this?!?
According to some studies (including the authors), you can alter LVC merely by either doing effortful swallows and volitional closure particularly enhanced by biofeedback from VFSS.
“These data are significant because by instructing participants to prolong the duration of LVC, they were able to demonstrate volitional control over a predominantly brainstem-mediated swallowing event given the control mechanisms of LVC are considered reflexive in nature when it occurs in the context of airway protection during swallowing. However, by implementing direct volitional control, manipulating this event has enormous rehabilitation potential.” p.6
While the article continues to remind us that lack of airway protection is a major cause of aspiration and pretty darn prevalent in populations like post-CVA, neurologically older patients compared to healthy, and head&neck cancer patients with specific radiation treatments, we do still need to learn more about this phenomenon.
Lucky for us, they also point out that the studies looking at the above populations did NOT look at what the WHOLE POINT of this article is talking about which is:
“which component of LVC is delayed, absent, or impaired (i.e. epiglottic inversion due to impaired tongue, pharynx, or laryngeal elevation? Arytenoid movement?)?”
While we can look forward to a bunch of research in the future hopefully touching on disrupting (aka perturbing) laryngeal motor control in order to help us gain understanding on which components are the most important, for now we will have to keep giving LVC the respect it clearly deserves.
And if you’re sitting there, wine glass empty, stressing out with the disappointed thought of “why does it matter if I don’t know the specific reason LVC is incomplete?” or “I know the airway isn’t protected so I can just fix that“:
“This is important because therapy targets for tongue base retraction might differ greatly than those that target laryngeal elevation or pharyngeal constriction. Identifying the specific impaired component of LVC could lead to more effective treatment to improve swallowing airway protection.” p.7
Hopefully, if anything at all in your car, house, or any item has ever broken or failed to do its job, you didn’t simply just pay the mechanic or plumber and not ask WHAT specifically caused that leak, smoke, or tear? (I’ll also bet the professional probably offered you their explanation to this as well).
How can you use this article?!?
Maybe you’re desperately trying to advocate for improved radiology imaging/access and don’t want to miss these split-second events?
Or you are wanting to up your VFSS game and compare what you’re seeing in patients with the very variable norms??
What are your experiences with looking at LVC, understanding LVC, or even hearing about LVC for the first time?!?
Article Referenced: [FREE ACCESS]
Vose, A., & Humbert, I. (2018). “Hidden in Plain Sight”: A Descriptive Review of Laryngeal Vestibule Closure. Dysphagia, 34(3), 281-289. doi: 10.1007/s00455-018-9928-1
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