Sequential swallow ability of 100 ml carbonated thin liquids in healthy young adults

Abstract

Context: Using sour liquids to enhance sensory stimulation is practiced widely in oropharyngeal dysphagia. However, dysphagic population reports sour taste as unpalatable and difficult to adopt for daily meals. To overcome this, carbonated thin liquids (CTLs) are adopted by dysphagia practitioners. Yet, there are limited scientific experiments in this clinically significant area. Aims: The present study was undertaken to investigate any potential differences in swallowing ability between CTL in comparison with non-CTL (NCTL) using timed test of swallow in healthy young adults. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional comparative design was used for the study. Subjects and Methods: Thirty healthy young adults within the age range of 18–24 years ingested CTL and NCTL of 100 ml capacity in a 120 ml throwaway cup. In CTL, neutral, sweet, and sour taste was adopted. Based on which three swallow indices, namely, volume/swallow (V/S), time/swallow (T/S), and swallow capacity (SC) were derived. Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive statistics and repeated measures of ANOVA were applied on the data. Results: In V/S, sweet CTL had higher volume intake, while sour CTL had least. In the temporal parameter, NCTL had the shortest T/S and sour CTL had increased T/S. Finally, sweet CTL had highest SC. These differences were not statistically significant. Conclusions: The data of the study suggest that sweet CTL promotes swallow performance, while sour CTL inhibits SC. These findings have practical implications in promoting safe swallow.