Respiratory-swallow coordination is implicated as an essential component of safe and efficient swallowing, yet current evidence is incomplete regarding its relevance to swallowing impairment, assessment and treatment. Three studies were conducted that: 1) characterized and confirmed the optimal respiratory-swallowing coordination patterns in healthy adults, 2) identified linkages between deviations in respiratory-swallowing coordination and degree of swallowing impairment in patients with head and neck cancer, and 3) validated a clinical assessment and treatment method to test and train this coordination. Chapter 1 describes the first-ever systematic review and meta-analysis confirming an optimal respiratory-swallow phase pattern in healthy adults (Chapter 1). This review provides a guideline for researchers and clinicians to distinguish optimal from suboptimal patterns in adult patients with dysphagia. Chapter 2 details an investigation of respiratory-swallow phase patterns in a heterogeneous sample of Head and Neck Cancer (HNC) patients and uncovered convincing linkages between swallowing impairment and suboptimal respiratory swallowing phase patterns. These new findings support previous research regarding the relevance of respiratory-swallowing coordination in clinical assessment and as a target in swallowing rehabilitation. Chapter 3 describes the development and validation of a novel automated software program used for noninvasive detection of respiratory-swallowing coordination during clinical assessment and treatment (Chapter 3).

Creator

• Hopkins-Rossabi, Theresa

DOI

• https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-gjjc-ey83

Subject

• Speech therapy

Language

• en

Alternate Identifier

• etdadmin_upload_734106
• http://dissertations.umi.com/northwestern:15051

Keyword

• Head and Neck Cancer
• Swallowing
• Respiratory-Swallow Coordination
• Dysphagia

Date created

• 2020-01-01

Resource type

• Dissertation

Rights statement

• In Copyright