Clinical Markers of Dysphagia in Cardiac Surgical Patients

This procedure involves inserting a flexible laryngoscope that contains a light source and video camera on the end through the open passage of the nose towards the back of the throat in order to visualize the swallowing mechanism.

This procedure involves inserting a flexible laryngoscope that contains a light source and video camera on the end through the open passage of the nose towards the back of the throat in order to visualize the swallowing mechanism. The participant will be asked to perform some voicing tasks, once completed, a videofluoroscopic swallowing exam will occur at the same time. This is like a moving x-ray of the participant swallowing foods and liquids (barium).

This is like a moving x-ray of the participant swallowing foods and liquids (barium).

Cough PEF will be performed to index a participant's physiologic airway defense capacity and strength. Testing will occur with the participant seated upright at 90 degrees using an analog peak flow meter with a one-way expiratory valve that prevents a participant from breathing air in from the device to reduce contamination.

Participants will be seated upright and administered reflex cough testing via a disposable adult aerosol mask with an attached nebulizer that contains a solution to elicit a cough response.

Lingual strength will be evaluated using the Iowa Oral Pressure Instrument (IOPI). Participants will be seated upright, and the SLP will place the IOPI air-filled sensing bulb in the midline anterior position on the participant's tongue, posterior to the alveolar ridge.

"Speech assessment will occur with the participant comfortably seated headset microphone with a lapel windscreen connected to a TASCAM DR40 to allow for high-quality audio recordings. Individuals will be asked to perform two maximal performance speech tasks that include vowel prolongation of /a/, and a Diadochokinetic (DDK) rate task to examine SMR for production of the word buttercup."