[Dysphagia] Volitional cough

[swlslp at yahoo.com (Sandi Lancaster)]

Hi all,

I have a patient who is post-CVA w/ oropharyngeal
dysphagia.   He has a strong spontaneous cough w/ p.o.
at times, but he is unable to produce a functional
volitional cough upon request.  

This has me questioning the importance of a volitional
cough vs. spontaneous cough in terms of choking risk. 
He is very dysphonic -nearly aphonic at times- and I
am concerned about airway protection.  But I have seen
a strong spontaneous cough several times with food and
drink.

Any thoughts on this?

-Sandi

=====
Sandi Lancaster, M.A. CCC-SLP
Speech-Language Pathologist


		
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