E05 Cervical Auscultation: Don’t Throw Out your Stethoscope Just Yet with Dr Liza Bergstrom
Dysphagia Research BitesShow Notes
If you've ever felt uncertain about whether cervical auscultation belongs in your clinical toolkit, this episode is for you. In this episode of Dysphagia Research Bites, Chantelle sits down with Associate Professor Liza Bergstrom to unpack the evidence behind cervical auscultation, why it became so controversial, and why recent high-quality research suggests it deserves a proper place in your clinical swallow evaluation.
In this episode we cover:
· What cervical auscultation actually is and where to place the stethoscope · Why CA became controversial and why that controversy may have been based on a misunderstanding of its intended purpose · The five key components to listen for during oral trials using the Respiratory Swallow Assessment Protocol · How CA complements the clinical swallow exam rather than replacing instrumental assessment · What the research says about validity, accuracy and reliability of CA compared to FEES · The role of training in improving reliability and what training options are available · Whether CA can detect silent aspiration and what its limitations are
The publication this episode is based on: Bergström L, Cichero J, Jaghbeer M, Sutt AL. Respiratory-swallow assessment protocol for adult dysphagia management. BMC Res Notes. 2025 Nov 27;19(1):60. doi: 10.1186/s13104-025-07509-4. PMID: 41310723; PMCID: PMC12903235.
If you'd like some further reading on CA, please check out the articles below: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00455-022-10468-8 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17549507.2021.1953592#abstract https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/coa.14202?msockid=077fa973c35469500a04bf97c2d968d3 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30019178/ https://www.asha.org/siteassets/uploadedfiles/icf-swallowing.pdf
If you’ve been on the fence about CA or you’ve written it off, this episode is for you!
For comprehensive evidence-based dysphagia education beyond the podcast, head to: https://www.dysphagiabites.com/clinical-swallow-evaluation-course
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