Cervical Auscultation and Pulse Oximetry in the Assessment of Oropharyngeal Dysphagia: A Literature Update
Arianna Firino, Simona Raimondo
Cervical auscultation and pulse oximetry are commonly used methods for detecting dysphagia. Oropharyngeal dysphagia has a high incidence rate leading to a high level of mortality and morbidity connected, so an early and accurate assessment is important to avoid the consequences and protect the patient’s health and quality of life. The use of cervical auscultation and pulse oximetry to evaluate swallowing is a point of discussion in both clinical settings and scientific studies. The purpose of this study is to provide a literature update about the reliability of cervical auscultation and pulse oximetry in detecting aspiration in patients who suffer from dysphagia with different etiology among pediatric, adult and geriatric age groups. Medline, CINHAL, SpeechBITE and Cochrane Library databases were searched and the methodological quality of the studies was evaluated using the Cochrane Checklist for Diagnostic Accuracy Studies. The search strategy identified four included studies for cervical auscultation and one included study for pulse oximetry. Few studies exist and they show that both cervical auscultation and pulse oximetry should not be used as a stand-alone instrument. If they are included in a precise Bedside Examination, they should provide useful information for dysphagia assessment.
Keywords
Oropharyngeal dysphagia, Cervical auscultation, Pulse oximetry, Assessment, Bedside Examination.
