This presentation will outline and summarise a recently published systematic review, highlighting the diagnostic test accuracy of cervical auscultation as an adjunct assessment to detect aspiration in children and adults. The objectives of this presentation are to summarise the ability of cervical auscultation to detect aspiration, discuss different tools and their benefits and limitations, and to explore how to bridge the gap to apply these findings to clinical practice in different settings. This presentation will discuss the methodology followed to complete this review and an overview of bias in each of the included 10 study. It will outline that this is the first systematic review in this practice area to include meta-analysis in results, therefore providing reduced bias in reporting and a more objective overview of results. This presentation will additionally outline and define the results of the meta-analysis, which demonstrated very high sensitivity and high specificity for cervical auscultation’s detection of aspiration. Finally, the presentation will outline future directions for cervical auscultation research, focusing on how to translate research findings to clinical use. This includes the potential benefit of this assessment for community and rural and remote speech pathologists who may not have immediate access to instrumental assessments, to support their confidence in referring to instrumentals and managing clients whilst awaiting instrumentals. The benefits of cervical auscultation as a non-invasive assessment will additionally be discussed, which may be particularly useful for clients with sensory differences or children who need to limit radiation exposure from frequent Video Fluoroscopic Swallowing Studies. In conclusion, this study presentation will provide vital insights for the viability of cervical auscultation as an adjunct tool to be added to a clinician’s toolkit, to improve confidence in aspiration detection at the bedside to support instrumental referrals, and assist with dysphagia management

Cron, A. C., David, M., Orbell-Smith, J., Chang, A. B., Weir, K. A. & Frakking, T. T. (2024). Cervical auscultation for detecting oropharyngeal aspiration in paediatric and adult populations: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Otolaryngology, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1111/coa.14202