ArticleThe Laryngoscope2025
Pill Shape Determines Esophageal Transit Times-A Pill-to-Pill Study.
Article in The Laryngoscope, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Pill Shape Determines Esophageal Transit Times-A Pill-to-Pill Study.The Laryngoscope · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveWhen manufacturing medications, several parameters are considered in pill design, particularly shape and size. We hypothesized that oval-shaped pills would transit more quickly through the esophagus than round pills.
methodsEsophageal transit time (pill) (ETTp) of round and oval barium dummy-pills, derived from VFSS in 112 healthy individuals with no swallowing complaints and 50 individuals referred with swallowing complaints, was compared. ETTp was measured using quantitative software.
resultsETTp differed significantly by shape. In healthy adults, median round (13 mm, 1 g) ETTp was 26.4 s (SD 23.6) compared to oval ETTp (13 mm long axis, 1 g) of 5.4 s (SD 4) [p < 0.001]. In those with swallowing complaints, round ETTp was 45 s (SD 44) vs. oval ETTp 9 s (SD 14) [p < 0.001]. Gender and age differed across groups, with normal oval pill swallowers younger and more likely to be female than those with swallow complaints (39 vs. 69 years, p < 0.001; 70% female vs. 31% female, p = 0.018).
conclusionsMedication shape affects ETTp, with oval-shaped pills traveling significantly faster through the esophagus than round pills. However, oval-shaped pills do not highlight abnormality in the esophagus to the same degree as a round pill. Therefore, consideration of the purpose of pill administration during VFSS should guide pill shape choice, with round pills most suited for diagnostic testing. In a clinical setting, oval-shaped medication should be favored, if possible, for those with compromised swallow ability. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3:
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.