La prise en charge du bavage chez l'enfant en situation de handicap : recommandations de la commission « Pratiques professionnelles » du Réseau régional de rééducation et réadaptation pédiatrique en Rhône-Alpes (R4P)

Excessive drooling is commonly reported by disabled people and their family. There is no predominant standard care procedure available in the literature, and there is no proof of the efficiency of any particular therapy due to the lack of substantiated studies in this area. Réseau régional de rééducation et de réadaptation pédiatrique en Rhône-Alpes ([R4P], founded in 2007) is a regional network of paediatric rehabilitation services with professionals from the Rhône-Alpes region (France) interested in the care and management of disabled children. Within this network, the “Professional practices” commission organised meetings of professionals involved in drooling issues in order to create regional recommendations for the care of drooling in children with disabilities. From an exhaustive literature review and opinions from experts from different specialities (physicians, surgeons, speech therapists, nurses), we have worked in five main directions: assessment, guidance and rehabilitative care, drug treatments, injections of botulinium toxin and surgical treatment of drooling. A recommendation text emerged after several meetings. A simplified format intended for all professionals involved is available from the website www.r4p.fr. This sheet can be easily used in daily practice. More detailed information and working papers are also available from the website.