The Contribution of Deglutition Sounds for the Assessment of Dysphagia, Aspiration and Penetration: A Literature Review (pp. 105-142)
$100.00
Authors: (Christiane Borr, Department of Clinical Linguistics, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany)*
Abstract: The clinical swallow examination (CSE) is often the only tool given
to speech and language therapists to identify patients with a high risk of
aspiration, penetration and dysphagia. With the help of the CSE, the clinician
is able to gauge the oral phase. However, it is difficult to assess the
pharyngeal phase because it is impossible see what is happening. Several
studies report poor sensitivity – that is, the ability to identify true aspirators,
and poor specificity – the ability to classify true non-aspirators.
Even experienced clinicians can identify aspiration with the assessment
of clinical parameters in only 40–60% of the radiologically verified examples.
This is why we would be grateful for rapid and reliable methods
and procedures that boost the sensitivity and specificity of the clinical
assessment. Many publications propose several methods – one of them
cervical auscultation (CA). In this article I am reviewing about 40 years
of experience with and research on the knowledge of CA. The focus will
be on studies employing the methodical basis of CA, acoustic analysis,
or imaging techniques. Finally, I will discuss the diagnostic contribution
of CA to the assessment of swallowing disorders and delineate further
research prospects.
