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Dysphagia research

Everything we have read on dysphagia. Each paper is summarised from the full article rather than its abstract, so the limitations are in there too, and the funding wherever the paper declares it.

715 PAPERS · PAGE 14 OF 15 · NEWEST FIRST

• SLPSystematic Review2025Current trends and identified gaps in dysphagia research in Africa: A scoping review.The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir KommunikasieafwykingsDysphagia research in Africa is sparse, heavily skewed towards South Africa, and focused on clinical practice rather than teaching or prevalence. Nurses and doctors often lack the knowledge to identify swallowing difficulties, leaving speech-language therapists to manage complex cases with limited multidisciplinary support.
• SLPRCT2026A Liquid Thickener Presentation Format for the Therapeutic Management of Dysphagia-A Promising Step Forward in Addressing the Challenges Associated With Thickened Fluids in Swallowing Disorders?International journal of language & communication disordersPatients with swallowing difficulties rated drinks thickened with a new liquid concentrate as significantly more pleasant and easier to use than their usual powdered thickener. They drank more fluid on average and reported fewer gastrointestinal symptoms, though the study was small and short.
• SLPOther2026Construct Validity of the Brazilian Portuguese Version of the Thyroidectomy-Related Voice and Symptom Questionnaire (BR-PT-TVSQ).International journal of language & communication disordersThe Brazilian Portuguese thyroidectomy symptom questionnaire grouped patient-reported problems into voice, throat and neck/chest domains. Voice symptoms formed the largest group, but throat and neck/chest items overlapped.
• SLPSystematic Review2026Sarcopenic Dysphagia Reconsidered: A Systematic Review of Complex Interactions and Diagnostic Challenges.DysphagiaLabeling swallowing problems as sarcopenic dysphagia is not yet dependable. Studies defined it inconsistently, often used intake scales instead of objective swallowing tests, and included patients with stroke, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, or pneumonia that can impair swallowing on their own.
• SLPCohort2026Clinical predictors of dysphagia in patients with sepsis in a high-complexity hospital: insights for early identification.CoDASIn 35 sepsis patients, those with swallowing problems were more likely to have had prior neurological disease, require tube feeding, and die. Pre-existing neurological conditions and lung infections flagged high risk for dysphagia, warranting early speech therapy screening.
• PTOTSLPOther2026Accuracy of Balloons and Handheld Spirometers as Low-Cost Tools for Measuring Vital Capacity and Air Volume: A Laboratory-Based Validation Study.Folia phoniatrica et logopaedica : official organ of the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP)In a lab setting, a $150 digital spirometer and a $1 balloon measured injected air volumes with small, predictable errors compared to expensive clinical equipment. These low-cost tools accurately estimate vital capacity when simple mathematical corrections are applied.
• OTSLPCase Report2026Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Disruptive Behavior in a Child With Eosinophilic Esophagitis and Failure to Thrive.Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBPManaging ADHD in a child with eosinophilic esophagitis and poor weight gain requires choosing medications that do not suppress appetite, such as alpha-2 agonists, and adapting feeding therapy to the family's specific food restrictions and stress levels.
• SLPOther2026Orofacial myofunctional changes and risk of dysphagia in older adults in the frailty process: a methodological study.CoDASA standard oral function test did not predict swallowing risk in older adults with frailty. Scores showed no difference between those at risk and those not at risk of dysphagia, so this assessment alone cannot replace specific swallowing evaluations.
• SLPCohort2026Quantitative temporal analysis of posterior oral spillage in a dual-task for individuals with Parkinson's disease.CoDASSwallowing while performing a motor task slowed oral control in people with Parkinson's, but only for thick liquids at small volumes reached statistical significance. This suggests distraction impacts specific swallowing mechanics, not necessarily overall safety, in this small group.
• SLPOther2026Adherence To Prophylactic Swallowing Exercises in Head and Neck Cancer Patients (PRESTO-TRIAL) - the ROLE of Personality Characteristics.DysphagiaPersonality testing does not help predict which head and neck cancer patients will stick to swallowing exercises. Only openness showed a tiny statistical link, but it is too small to be useful. Do not use personality profiles to decide who needs extra support.
• SLPOther2026Influence of Bolus Location and Age on Timing Measures of Swallowing in Healthy Older Adults.Perspectives of the ASHA special interest groupsIn healthy older adults, bolus location varied across swallows. When the bolus was lower at swallow onset, reaction time was longer. Age was linked to slower onset and shorter swallowing intervals on some trials. Do not rely on one swallow.
• SLPOther2026Enabling equitable and inclusive travel experiences for dysphagia patients: a call to action for the aviation industry.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesMajor US airlines lack texture-modified meals for dysphagia patients. Menus are heavily concentrated on thin liquids and regular solid foods, leaving those requiring IDDSI levels 2 through 6 with almost no safe options.
• OTSLPOther2026Flow Characteristics of Barium Thickened Liquids during Swallowing in Healthy Adults.DysphagiaIn healthy adults, thicker barium liquids kept the bolus in the mouth at first swallow, while thin liquids often reached the throat. Gum-based thickeners did not consistently change transit times compared with starch-based.
• SLPSystematic Review2026Ethical Challenges and Considerations in Dysphagia Management: A Scoping Review.International journal of language & communication disordersDysphagia ethics literature focuses heavily on recognising dilemmas but rarely on how to act on them. Clinicians often know the right choice but lack support to advocate against institutional risk-aversion, especially in telepractice and complex cultural cases.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026The Prevalence of Infection and Sepsis Associated Dysphagia in Hospitalised Patients: A Retrospective Cross-sectional Study.DysphagiaSepsis and infection were associated with new-onset dysphagia in hospitalised patients. Sepsis carried a higher risk than infection alone. Older patients and those with dementia, delirium or Parkinson's disease were most likely to develop swallowing difficulties during admission.
• SLPOther2026Expanding the Evidence-base for Clinician-Graded Dysphagia Using Dynamic Imaging Grade of Swallowing Toxicity (DIGEST): Validation Across Non-head and Neck Cancer Oncology Populations.DysphagiaTwo SLPs grading the same videofluoroscopy studies independently agreed closely across 386 patients with cancer outside the head and neck, and every step up the DIGEST scale tracked a worse pharyngeal impairment score. Correlations with patient-reported swallowing were weaker than hypothesised.
• SLPOther2026Mapping the DIGEST Decision Tree to the IDDSI Framework to Promote Reproducibility and Global Implementation.DysphagiaDIGEST's developers have relabelled the food and drink consistencies in its decision tree using IDDSI levels. This is a terminology mapping for people using both tools, not a study: no patients, no outcomes, no data.
• SLPQualitative2026Qualitative Insights on Preventive Group Training in LTC Facilities: Key Influencing Factors.International journal of language & communication disordersFour speech therapists running preventive groups in care homes said sessions lived or died on groundwork: staff expecting them, residents having been told, a warm and available room. Of all the competencies they described, reflecting on their own practice came up most.
• SLPOther2026What About Foods? The Influence of Food Texture on the Safety, Timing, Kinematics, and Efficiency of Pharyngeal Phase Swallowing in Healthy Adults.Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHRTexture slowed food's path to the upper swallowing sphincter only when timing started at the hyoid burst. Started from when food gathered in the throat, texture made no difference. Soft and bite-sized food left least residue; a cracker left most. 20 healthy adults.
• SLPSystematic Review2026The Impact of Nasogastric Tubes (NGTs) on Swallow Function in Adults with Post-stroke Dysphagia: A Systematic Review.DysphagiaStroke survivors with dysphagia may swallow worse while a nasogastric tube is in place, with longer pharyngeal transit, more penetration or aspiration, and more residue, but no change in oral transit. Seven of the eight studies were at moderate to high risk of bias.
• SLPOther2026Assessment of Hyoid Bone Movement by Simultaneous Ultrasound and Videofluoroscopic Imaging.DysphagiaHandheld submental ultrasound tracked the hyoid through swallowing and, once the probe's own movement was corrected frame by frame, matched simultaneous videofluoroscopy closely. Correcting only for the starting angle did not. Uncorrected probe movement alone adds an estimated 0.37 cm of error.
• SLPSystematic Review2026Speech-language-hearing interventions in orofacial functions in individuals with Down syndrome: a scoping review.CoDASTen small studies, most without a control group, suggest speech-language therapy for orofacial function in people with Down syndrome can improve sucking, chewing and swallowing. The single breathing study found only a marginal effect on sleep apnoea, and the speech results were mixed.
• SLPCase-Control2026Investigation of Swallowing Performance and Family Impact in Children With Speech and Language Delay.International journal of language & communication disordersChildren with speech and language delay scored worse than typically developing peers on mouth structure and movement tests, and their families reported lower quality of life. Food and drink intake was no different, but parents did report more swallowing problems.
• SLPOther2026Assessing Inpatient Rehabilitation Outcomes for Pediatric Dysphagia with the PEDI-EAT-10.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationIn 23 children on one inpatient rehab unit, a caregiver questionnaire about swallowing fell from a mean of 15.26 at admission to 8.30 at discharge. With no control group, some of that may be ordinary recovery.
• SLPPilot2026Exploratory study on the effect of orofacial myofunctional therapy on habitual tongue resting position in people with obstructive sleep apnea.CoDASTwelve weeks of orofacial myofunctional therapy in ten adults with obstructive sleep apnea came with fewer oxygen desaturation events and better reported sleep, but the tongue's resting position moved less than a millimetre and there was no control group.
• SLPOther2026Visual Communication Supports for the Assessment of Swallowing and Somatosensation in Adults With Down Syndrome.Perspectives of the ASHA special interest groupsA clinical focus article, not a research study. A speech-language pathology team describes the visual and AAC supports it built to help 14 adults with Down syndrome take part in swallowing and oral sensation assessments. No data were collected on whether the supports worked.
• SLPPilot2026Respiratory-Swallow Training and Variable Practice in Parkinson's Disease: A Clinical Trial Pilot Study.Folia phoniatrica et logopaedica : official organ of the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP)Four weekly sessions teaching people with Parkinson's to breathe out before and after swallowing raised the proportion of swallows with that pattern from 38.4% to 71.7%, with less residue and less material entering the airway. There was no untreated control group.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2026Neonatal Therapy Interventions Supporting Oral Feeding Skills in Preterm Infants: A Systematic Review.Physical & occupational therapy in pediatricsPreterm infants given oral motor stimulation, non-nutritive sucking, swallowing exercises or sensory-based therapy reached full oral feeding sooner than controls, by 4 to 9 days in the studies that found a difference. Effects on weight gain and length of stay were inconsistent.
• SLPMeta-Analysis2022A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis on the Effectiveness of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Swallowing Function of Poststroke Patients.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationAdding brain stimulation (tDCS) to rehabilitation improved swallowing after stroke across 10 small trials, with the largest gains when the current went to the uninjured side of the brain. Evidence quality is low: most trials did not describe how patients were assigned to groups.
• SLPRCT2023Increasing Adherence to Prophylactic Swallowing Exercises During Head and Neck Radiotherapy: The Multicenter, Randomized Controlled PRESTO-Trial.DysphagiaPatients doing swallowing exercises during radiotherapy stuck with them best when a speech therapist supervised every session. Adherence fell in all three groups over four weeks, and was lowest when the exercises were done with an app.
• SLPRCT2023The Effect of Sensory Level Versus Motor Level Electrical Stimulation of Pharyngeal Muscles in Acute Stroke Patients with Dysphagia: A Randomized Trial.DysphagiaSensory and motor electrical stimulation made no difference to swallowing recovery when compared directly in 31 acute stroke patients. The sensory group's own scores improved on three measures while the motor group's did not, but both groups also had standard dysphagia therapy.
• SLPRCT2024Effectiveness of orofacial myofunctional intervention to mitigate facial aging signs: a clinical trial.CoDASAdding surface EMG biofeedback to orofacial myofunctional therapy made no difference to facial wrinkles or to chewing, swallowing and speech, only to how satisfied the women felt. Nine weekly sessions improved chewing and swallowing. Wrinkle gains faded after eight weeks off.
• SLPRCT2024Prophylactic Swallowing Therapy During Head-and-Neck Cancer Radiotherapy: Effect of Service-Delivery Mode and Overall Adherence Level on Swallowing Function and Muscle Strength-the PRESTO Trial.DysphagiaHow swallowing exercises were delivered made no difference: paper, app and face-to-face with a therapist gave the same swallowing function. Patients who completed at least 75% of the prescribed exercises had better preserved swallowing and stronger tongue muscles.
• SLPRCT2025Pharyngeal Residues Scoring through the Yale Pharyngeal Residue Severity Rating Scale (YPRSRS): Efficacy of Training.DysphagiaA 160-minute online course did not bring clinicians' pharyngeal residue scores on FEES videos any closer to expert ratings than untrained colleagues, and agreement between raters did not change. Only pyriform sinus video scores improved within the trained group.
• SLPRCT2025Biofeedback and Exercise Load Affect Accuracy of Tongue Strength Exercise Performance.DysphagiaHow accurately older adults hit their tongue strength exercise targets did not predict their strength gains; only age did, with older people improving less. Maximum-effort exercise was performed more accurately than submaximal exercise, and biofeedback helped people recall the target but lowered home adherence.
• SLPMeta-Analysis2023Diagnostic Accuracy of the Eating Assessment Tool-10 (EAT-10) in Screening Dysphagia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.DysphagiaThe EAT-10 screens for dysphagia more accurately at a cutoff of 3 than at 2. Sensitivity was 0.89 at cutoff 2 and 0.85 at cutoff 3, but specificity was only 0.59 at 2 against 0.82 at 3. The authors recommend 3.
• PTSLPMeta-Analysis2024The Prevalence and Nature of Eating and Swallowing Problems in Adults with Fibromyalgia: A Systematic Review.DysphagiaPooled from just two studies, 51.9% of adults with fibromyalgia had swallowing problems, but the true figure could lie anywhere from 25.6% to 77.2%. Core issues such as aspiration and painful chewing were never measured.
• SLPMeta-Analysis2024Dysphagia Prevalence in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.DysphagiaAbout 79% of people with PSP have dysphagia and roughly a quarter aspirate on instrumental testing. Estimates were lower when dysphagia was judged by water swallow tests (56%) and higher with FEES or videofluoroscopy (89%). Swallowing should be assessed early.
• SLPRCT2025Effects of Puree Type and Color on Ratings of Pharyngeal Residue, Penetration, and Aspiration during FEES: A Prospective Study of 37 Dysphagic Outpatient Adults.Folia phoniatrica et logopaedica : official organ of the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP)Ratings of throat residue during FEES were higher for pudding than applesauce, and higher for blue- or green-dyed purees than plain ones. Penetration and aspiration ratings did not differ. Whether residue truly differs or raters are swayed by color is unclear.
• SLPSystematic Review2023Application of Ultrasonography in Neurogenic Dysphagia: A Systematic Review.DysphagiaIn acute stroke, the less the hyoid and larynx came together during a swallow, the worse the patient's oral intake and bedside screening scores. Ten small studies, all with different protocols, so no cut-off values yet.
• OTSLPMeta-Analysis2023Prevalence of Oropharyngeal Dysphagia in Adults in Different Healthcare Settings: A Systematic Review and Meta-analyses.DysphagiaAbout a third of hospital patients and half of nursing home residents were found to have swallowing problems, with 42.5% in rehabilitation. More than half the studies used swallowing tests with no published accuracy data, and none covered palliative care.
• SLPOther2026DEGLUTO: initial validity evidence of a clinical swallowing assessment tool for adults.CoDASTen speech pathologists agreed on what 20 of the 21 items of a new adult bedside swallowing assessment meant, and it took about 15 minutes to use. One item, on behaviour at meals, was dropped because assessors read it too differently. No accuracy data yet.
• SLPMeta-Analysis2023Preventive measures for the progression of dysphagia in patients with cancer of head and neck subjected to radiotherapy: a systematic review with meta-analysis.CoDASSwallowing exercises during radiotherapy for head and neck cancer improved oral intake scores in a meta-analysis of two trials with 33 patients per arm. Two of the four included studies found no benefit, and the evidence is rated low quality.
• SLPSystematic Review2025The Role of Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs) in International Stroke Teams: A Systematic Review.International journal of language & communication disordersAcross 42 studies, SLTs were fully embedded in stroke teams in 26, partially involved in 11, and absent in 5. Full integration was predominantly in high-income countries, which also produced 34 of the 42 studies. In low-income settings, SLTs were often missing from stroke units.
• SLPSystematic Review2022Effectiveness of Interventions for Dysphagia in Parkinson Disease: A Systematic Review.American journal of speech-language pathologyAcross 26 studies of swallowing treatments in Parkinson's disease, results were inconsistent and the evidence too weak to recommend any specific intervention. A few studies saw faster swallowing or less residue, but the quality of the data does not support choosing one treatment over another.
• SLPSurvey2026Working With School-Aged Children With Neurodisability and Oropharyngeal Dysphagia Who Require Mealtime Assistance: A Survey of Speech and Language Therapists' Clinical Practice.International journal of language & communication disordersMost SLTs in this group do not use published assessment tools or formal feeding programmes. They rely on locally developed approaches and mealtime mats. Two styles of supporting carer adherence emerged: collaborative and prescriptive.
• SLPSurvey2026The collaboration of RTs and SLPs in German centers for weaning from mechanical ventilation in neurological and neurosurgical early rehabilitation - results from an online survey.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesOne-third of SLPs in German weaning units had no RT at all. Where both are present, RTs report more collaboration than SLPs do, and each group rates itself as having more influence than the other. SLPs lead communication; RTs lead secretion and tube work.
• SLPCohort2026Rethinking tracheostomy care: cuffless tubes for patients with aspiration.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciencesSwitching 124 neurologically impaired patients from cuffed to cuffless tracheostomy tubes was not associated with more aspiration pneumonia. Secretions and suctioning needs fell substantially, and speaking valves became easier to use. Decannulation succeeded in 76.6%.
• SLPCohort2026Self-perception of swallowing, vocal symptoms, and the possibility of dysphagia occurrence in patients under palliative care.CoDASIn 50 palliative care patients, 80% reported negative swallowing perception, 58% had vocal symptoms above cutoff, and 62% screened positive for dysphagia risk. Sarcopenia and dyspnea were associated with worse scores across all three measures.
• SLPOther2026Thin Liquid Sip Sizes in Outpatient Adults with Normal and Disordered Swallowing: Modifying Factors and Relationships with Swallowing Safety and Efficiency.Folia phoniatrica et logopaedica : official organ of the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP)Self-selected thin-liquid sip size did not predict swallowing safety or efficiency in 74 outpatient adults. Testing conditions like straws, colored liquids, and partial cup fills systematically shifted sip size away from the 24 mL patients choose under natural conditions.