Dynamics of Swallowing Tablets during the Recovery Period following Surgery for Tongue Cancer

Compared to foods, medicinal tablets are difficult to swallow: even 10-20% of healthy subjects have trouble swallowing tablets. Compared to healthy subjects, patients with dysphagia reportedly experience more difficulty swallowing tablets and require an increased volume of water for tablet ingestion, a longer ingestion time, and an increase in the number of swallowing attempts.

In order to improve compliance with taking medication, investigations into the dosage forms and physical properties of tablets that can be easy to ingest have been conducted in the past.

The larger the tablets, the harder they are to ingest; conversely, if they are too small, they can be difficult to handle. A tablet size of 7-8 mm in diameter is considered the easiest for Japanese people to swallow.

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