Infant oropharyngeal trauma

Infant oropharyngeal trauma
Post-traumatic feeding disorder (PTFD) is diagnosed when food refusal follows
trauma to the oropharynx or oesophagus, but it is not necessarily, or commonly,
seen among groups of infants in whom it might be expected to occur, for
example, infants with OA. This suggests that other factors, such as oro-motor
dysfunction, hypersensitivity to food taste, temperature or texture, temperament
or pre-existing anxiety, may contribute to the response (Chatoor, Ganiban,
Harrison & Hirsch, 2001). PTFD can be distinguished from IA by the intensity
of the toddler’s resistance to feeding, although toddlers with IA who have been
force-fed also exhibit intense resistance. Chatoor et al. (2001), in comparing the
feeding relationships between PTFD and IA toddlers and their parents, found
that feeding between PTFD toddlers and their mothers was more synchronous
and less negative than for the IA group. They observed that food refusal in IA
appeared to be due to lack of appetite, whereas fear of swallowing seemed to be
the precipitating factor for PTFD.