Dysphagia management: Does structured training improve the validity and reliability of cervical auscultation?

Acoustic Analysis of Swallowing of an Experimental Meal of Three Food Textures: A Comparative Aging Study

Swallowing disorders in the elderly represent a public health problem, their detections are a medico-economic issue. The acoustic analysis of swallowing has the advantages of being non-invasive with no radiation, compared to videofluoroscopy or fiberoptic swallowing assessments. Acoustic analysis of swallowing has been tested in many studies but only on small food boluses. The aim of this study was to compare the acoustic swallowing parameters of two groups of healthy subjects, before and after 70 years old, during the intake of a series of 3 food textures. A laryngophone was used to record the pharyngeal phase of swallowing. The experimental meal was composed of 100 ml of mashed potatoes, 100 ml of water, and 100 ml of yogurt. Group 1 (50-70 years old) comprised 21 subjects and group 2 (over 70 years old) 23 subjects. Acoustic parameters analyzed were the number of swallows, average duration of swallowing, average duration of inter-swallowing, meal duration, and the average frequency of swallowing per minute. These parameters for groups 1 and 2 were compared. The average duration of inter-swallowing and the meal duration were significantly higher in the older group (p < 0.001), with a mean duration of inter-swallowing that was 2.4 s longer than the younger group. The average swallowing frequency per minute was higher in the younger group (11.3 vs 7.9; p < 0.001). This study demonstrated that acoustic analysis of an experimental meal of three food textures generated usable data on swallowing. In the over 70 age group, there was a decrease in swallowing frequency, indicating a slowdown in food intake. A reduced swallowing frequency could become a criteria to assess presbyphagia.

Dysphagia Management and Cervical Auscultation: Reliability and Validity Against FEES

This study investigated the reliability and validity (sensitivity and specificity) of cervical auscultation (CA) using both swallow and pre-post swallow-respiratory sounds, as compared with Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES). With 103 swallow-respiratory sequences from 23 heterogenic patients, these swallows sounds were rated by eight CA-trained Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) to investigate: (1) if the swallow was safe (primary outcome); (2) patient dysphagia status; (3) the influence of liquid viscosity on CA accuracy (secondary outcomes). Primary outcome data showed high CA sensitivity (85.4%), and specificity (80.3%) with all consistencies for the safe measurement, with CA predictive values of [Formula: see text] 90% to accurately detect unsafe swallows. Intra-rater reliability was good (Kappa [Formula: see text] 0.65), inter rater reliability moderate (Kappa [Formula: see text] 0.58). Secondary outcome measures showed high sensitivity (80.1%) to identify if a patient was dysphagic, low specificity (22.9%), and moderate correlation (r_s [Formula: see text] 0.62) with FEES. A difference across bolus viscosities identified that CA sensitivities (90.1%) and specificities ([Formula: see text] 84.7%) for thin liquids were greater than for thick liquids (71.0-77.4% sensitivities, 74.0-81.3% specificities). Results demonstrate high validity and moderate-good reliability of CA-trained SLPs to determine swallow safety when compared with FEES. Data support the use of CA as an adjunct to the clinical swallow examination. CA should include pre-post respiratory sounds and requires specific training. Clinical implications: The authors advocate for holistic dysphagia management including instrumental assessment and ongoing CSE/review [Formula: see text] CA. Adding CA to the CSE/review does not replace instrumental assessment, nor should CA be used as a stand-alone tool.

Development and evaluation of a survey instrument to assess veterinary medical record suitability for multi-center research studies

Here we describe the development and evaluation of a survey instrument to assess the research suitability of veterinary electronic medical records (EMRs) through the conduct of two studies as part of the Dog Aging Project (DAP). In study 1, four reviewers used the instrument to score a total of 218 records in an overlapping matrix of pairs to assess inter-rater agreement with respect to appropriate format (qualification), identification match (verification), and record quality. Based upon the moderate inter-rater agreement with respect to verification and the relatively large number of records that were incorrectly rejected the instrument was modified and more specific instructions were provided. In study 2, a modified instrument was again completed by four reviewers to score 100 different EMRs. The survey scores were compared to a gold standard of board-certified specialist review to determine receiver operating curve statistics. The refined survey had substantial inter-rater agreement across most qualification and verification questions. The cut-off value identified had a sensitivity of 95 and 96% (by reviewer 1 and reviewer 2, respectively) and a specificity of 82% and 91% (by reviewer 1 and reviewer 2, respectively) to predict gold standard acceptance or rejection of the record. Using just qualification and verification questions within the instrument (as opposed to full scoring) minimally impacted sensitivity and specificity and resulted in substantial time savings in the review process.

Acoustic characteristics associated with liquid swallowing sounds of different bolus consistencies in young healthy adults

BACKGROUND

Cervical auscultation has been used clinically as an augmentative procedure for swallow examination. Despite its frequent use for screening and preliminary assessment of swallowing, the usefulness of cervical auscultation is controversial due to a lack of sufficient research, particularly in quantifying swallowing sounds.

AIMS

To document the acoustic characteristics of normal swallowing sound associated with swallowing bolus of different consistencies among younger healthy adults.

METHODS & PROCEDURES

A total of 30 healthy young adult participants swallowed 5 ml thickened liquids of four different consistencies (slightly thick, mildly thick, moderately thick and extremely thick) prepared using a starch-based commercial thickener, and the corresponding swallowing sounds were recorded using a wireless accelerometric stethoscope. An array of acoustic measures including duration of swallowing sound (DSS), duration to peak intensity (DPI), frequency at peak intensity (FPI), peak intensity (PI), average intensity (AI), and difference between peak and average intensity (DPAI) values associated with the swallowing signals were obtained.

OUTCOMES & RESULTS

In general, increased durational measures of the swallowing sounds were associated with an increase in bolus consistency. Intensity measures including PI, AI and DPAI were found to be stable across different consistencies. The change in FPI did not appear to be particularly meaningful due to its high variability. In addition, no significant differences were observed between men and women.

CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS

Swallow sounds associated with different bolus consistencies could be quantified and used to differentiate consistencies. The present findings could serve as a reference for future swallowing research of normal and dysphagic population.

WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS

What is already known on the subject Cervical auscultation using traditional stethoscope has been used as part of an informal clinical swallow examination by practitioners. Validity of cervical auscultation is controversial, possibly due to the lack of normative data on swallow sounds. What this paper adds to existing knowledge The present study explored the possibility of using wireless accelerometric stethoscopy for cervical auscultation for dysphagia screening. Acoustic profiles of swallow sounds associated with boluses of different consistencies in healthy individuals were examined. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Findings contribute to our knowledge about the acoustic characteristics of swallow sounds of boluses of different consistencies in healthy young individuals. The study provides normative clinical data on cervical auscultation using wireless accelerometric stethoscope for normal swallow.