Spectroacoustic characterization of pharyngeal swallowing times in healthy adults: descriptive percentile analysis
Caracterización espectroacústica de tiempos deglutorios faríngeos en adultos sanos: análisis percentilar descriptivo
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Cervical auscultation is a complementary clinical alternative for functional analysis in contexts where instrumental methods are difficult to access; its interpretation requires structured descriptions of temporal variability in healthy populations. The objective of this study was to spectroacoustically characterize the timing of pharyngeal swallowing in healthy adults and organize their values using a descriptive percentile structure. A descriptive cross-sectional observational study was conducted in 51 healthy adults, in whom two swallows were recorded: one with type 0 consistency and the other with type 4 according to the International Dysphagia Diet Standardisation Initiative. Both were auscultated using a Littmann® 3200 electronic stethoscope and StethAssist® software. Four phases were manually defined: pharyngeal transit, swallowing apnea, early protection, and respiratory resolution. Measures of central tendency, dispersion, and percentiles (P5, P10, P25, P50, P75, P90, and P95) were calculated. All four phases were consistently identifiable. Transit time and swallowing apnea showed greater dispersion, while early protection time showed the highest concentration in the P25–P75 interval (up to 74.5% in water), demonstrating greater stability. Final time, representing respiratory resolution, showed intermediate variability. In all variables, more than 50% of the data fell within the central percentile range, and less than 12% fell within extreme values. Percentile organization allowed for the description of functional variability without assuming statistical normality, demonstrating stability in preventive times and greater flexibility in overall times, thus providing a descriptive basis for the clinical interpretation of digital cervical auscultation in healthy adults.
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