The purpose of the present literature review was to analyze international scientific papers published on the physiology of swallowing fluids in the oral and pharyngeal phases. The employed methodology involved the formulation of the question, location and selection of studies, critical assessment of the manuscripts, according to the concepts of the Cochrane Handbook. We identified 185 articles, out of which 141 were excluded for not being directly related to the theme. Twenty-nine studies were analyzed. The researchers are strongly related to ways of identifying dysphagia and not the features offered by swallowing various consistencies. Regarding the methodology employed in the reviewed articles it is observed that in most studies there are no control groups. The studied groups are heterogeneous, especially when considering individuals with neurological disorders. In addition, subjects are not paired by age. Thus, the findings of this review indicate that there is great difficulty for clinicians to apply in their daily practice scientific findings, which in turn makes evidence-based practice very limited.
Deglutition; Food; Drinking behavior; Deglutition disorders; Speech, language and hearing sciences
