ESPEN – The European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism is holding its annual congress at the Hague in the Netherlands this September.

We have only just heard of it and wanted to let you know it was happening, because it has a dysphagia element. Many events do, but the organisers tell us, more clinicians with a dysphagia interest have registered this year than in previous years.

As a direct result more poster presentations than before are featured which include:

• The Relationship between the risk of dysphagia and functional outcomes in older community dwellers
• Hydration on patients in a care program (HCP) with orofaringea Dyaphagia
• Thickener use in paediatric dysphagia: treatment, results and family experiences
• Body composition by bioelectrical impedance vector analysis according to severity of oropharyngeal dysphagia in hospitalized patients
• Nutritional evolution of hospitalized patients after ischemic encephali vascular accident with or without dysphagia

The fact that such a prestigious event has a large dysphagia element reflects what we are seeing… a growing awareness of dysphagia, its impact on a patient’s ability to maintain nutritional status and a desire to find effective solutions.

And we think that is good? These solutions need to be worked on now in preparation for the future. The incidence of dysphagia is set to increase. Patients and clinicians will need more choices.

For example – now in 2017, for those with a normal swallow function; there are at least 30 oral nutritional supplements available. For those with dysphagia – there are only 3 pre-thickened supplements – in the world!

If you can – try and attend and please pass the link below to your colleagues who are not dysphagia specialists. The Congress has 18 Scientific Symposia ranging from Nutrtion and Longeivity, to Regulation of food intake and 9 Educational Symnposia ranging from Specific needs of patients with chronic disease to Specific nutritional care in children.

http://www.espen.org/the-hague-2017

We hope you find it useful.