The Effect of Viscosity on the Breath–Swallow Pattern of Young People with Cerebral Palsy

In this observational pilot study, we investigated the effect of swallowing pudding and liquids of different viscosity on the breath–swallow pattern of young people with quadriparetic cerebral palsy (CP) and normal controls. A noninvasive acoustical technique was used to monitor breaths and swallows while the individuals were drinking thin and thick liquids and consuming pudding. The results showed that subjects with CP had a significantly higher rate of post-swallow inspiration than controls when they were drinking thin liquid but not when they were consuming thick liquid or pudding. Subjects with CP had greater variability and duration of deglutition apnea than controls. Whether the differences seen in breath–swallow pattern and deglutition apnea in young people with CP contribute to aspiration risk remains to be determined. Further clarification of these results by a carefully controlled study of individuals with cerebral palsy undergoing concurrent videofluoroscopic swallowing evaluation and acoustical monitoring of the breath–swallow pattern is required to verify these preliminary results and assess their clinical applicability.