Archives

Speech-Language Pathology Guidance for Tracheostomy During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An International Multidisciplinary Perspective (2020)

January 13, 2022 by Megan Berg.
Patients with tracheostomy increase the exposure risks for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and other frontline healthcare providers because of the direct contact with the mucosal surface, secretions, and aerosols. The reflexes of sneezing and coughing should be assumed grossly intact for awake patients, which increases the frequency of aerosolization during procedures. Many hospital procedures can cause […]
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Evaluation of Swallowing Function on Healthy Adults While Using High-Flow Nasal Cannula (2019)

January 13, 2022 by Megan Berg.
High-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) is a common method of treatment for individuals with compromised respiratory systems. HFNC benefits are well documented within the literature. Some of these benefits include reducing ventilation dead space within the lungs, reducing nasopharyngeal resistance, providing continuous positive airway pressure, and promoting the movement of secretions with inhalation of humidification. There […]
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Timing of Dysphagia Screening in Alzheimer’s Dementia (2020)

January 13, 2022 by Megan Berg.
Dysphagia is expected in the late and end stages of AD, but it can also happen in the disease’s early stage. During this early stage, the oropharyngeal dysphagia may be subtle and go unnoticed by patients and caregivers. Patients should be screened throughout the AD levels because aspiration, dysphagia, sarcopenia, and polypharmacy can happen during […]
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Respiratory-Swallow Coordination in Healthy Adults During Drinking of Thin to Extremely Thick Liquids (2020)

January 13, 2022 by Megan Berg.
The coordination of respiration and swallowing is controlled by the central pattern generators located within the brainstem. This timely precision of muscle coordination prevents aspiration of foreign material into the airway and lungs. For healthy adults, the most common swallowing respiratory pattern is the expiration- respiratory pause-expiration pattern, but this pattern is knowns as the […]
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Perception Versus Performance of Swallowing Function in Residents of Long-Term Care (2019)

January 13, 2022 by Megan Berg.
The authors of this study hypothesized that long term care residents would not have self- perception of their swallowing problems and thus would not accurately report it to health professionals. A total of 397 residents participated in this study which was a portion of the larger Making the Most of Mealtimes study looking at 32 […]
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Patient Experiences of Swallowing Exercises After Head and Neck Cancer: A Qualitative Study Examining Barriers and Facilitators Using Behavior Change Theory (2017)

January 13, 2022 by Megan Berg.
The current research suggests about 55% of people had complete non-adherence and 36% had partial adherence for individuals with head and neck cancer. Common reasons patient have given in the past for poor adherence include not having dysphagia at the time of evaluation, poor understanding about the rationale for exercises, the exercises are difficult, being […]
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The Effects of Aspirated Thickened Water on Survival and Pulmonary Injury in a Rabbit Model

January 13, 2022 by Megan Berg.
Since this study would never be approved for human participants, adult New Zeland rabbits were humanely used within this prospective small animal clinical trial. A total of 24 rabbits were separated into three groups of eight for a three consecutive day study. The rabbits were anesthetized intravenously and were able to breathe spontaneously with the […]
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Pretreatment Swallowing Exercises Improve Swallow Function After Chemoradiation (2008)

January 13, 2022 by Megan Berg.
Within this retrospective case-control, there were eighteen participants with advanced squamous cell carcinomas of the oropharynx, hypopharynx, and larynx treated with both chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Nine of the patients were included in the pretreatment swallowing exercises group and the other nine were included in the control group and completed swallowing exercises after receiving chemoradiation […]
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Pneumonia: Factors Beyond Aspiration (2005)

January 13, 2022 by Megan Berg.
When a person has pneumonia, the body responds by causing infection and inflammation of the alveoli within the lungs. This inflammation of the lung cells compromises the oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange process. The diagnosis of hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) or nosocomial pneumonia is reserved for people developing bacterial pneumonia within a hospital or care facility. […]
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Characteristics of Criocopharyngeal Dysphagia after Ischemic Stroke (2018)

January 13, 2022 by Megan Berg.
Cricopharyngeal dysfunction (CPD) is when the muscles do not relax the upper esophageal sphincter (UES), during swallowing, and this prevents the bolus to pass from the pharynx to the esophagus. The incidence of CPD has been reported to be as high as 50%, among individuals with stokes. This study aimed to determine if the brain […]
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