Searching for Meaningful Differences in Viscosity

Excerpt

The preceding article by Garcia, Chambers, Matta, and Clark [1] exposes a serious flaw in our pervasive assumptions about texture modification as an intervention for dysphagia. Namely, Garcia et al. have successfully demonstrated that following a recipe and combining a prescribed amount of thickening agent with a prescribed volume of liquid does not necessarily result in a texture-modified product with predictable flow properties. The data presented by Garcia et al. [1] clearly illustrate that the final product depends on the nature of the selected thickening agent, the nature of the original thin liquid, and time. These factors are shown to significantly influence the viscosity of the final product, even in a controlled laboratory setting. The clarity of Garcia et al.’s [1] findings compels us to take notice and consider the implications of this research for daily clinical practice. …