Pharyngeal Fatigability: A Missing Link in Dysphagia Outcome Measures

Purpose: In this viewpoint article, we discuss muscular endurance as it relates to swallow function, highlight the need for additional research exploring pharyngeal endurance, and explore how high-resolution pharyngeal manometry may support objective measurement of pharyngeal performance fatigability. Conclusions: Pharyngeal endurance is an underassessed component of functional swallowing with unclear clinical importance. Standard instrumental assessment is not well suited to assess changes in pharyngeal endurance, but high-resolution pharyngeal manometry may be uniquely equipped to quantify pharyngeal performance fatigability. Future research is warranted in this area to validate the use of this tool for pharyngeal endurance assessment and to clarify the clinical importance of this information.