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Choosing our tools: assessing language in dementia

Language led dementia, also known as primary progressive aphasia (PPA), is an emerging area of practice in speech and language therapy. Given that the diagnosis centres around the key diagnostic feature of language, whereby language impairment is the most prominent...

The effects of paediatric tracheostomy

Paediatric tracheostomy is usually an essential procedure to preserve life, or to allow a patient to function in the community. However, the effect of tracheostomy on the developing child - care requirements, lack of voice, impaired swallow, constant risk of...

How can we actually be culturally responsive?

Now, more than ever, we need to take action to meet the needs of the students and patients we work with. Black Lives Matter only emphasised how little progress has been made in this area to date. The authors of...

Continuous Ambulatory Vestibular Assessment (CAVA)

This article presents initial test findings using a novel system called CAVA - Continuous Ambulatory Vestibular Assessment. Akin to the 24-hour ECG tape to identify cardiac arrhythmias, this system aims to continuously monitor the presence of a nystagmus pattern in...

A safe management pathway for low-risk head and neck cancer suspected referrals

Head and neck cancer is the eighth most common malignancy and numbers are increasing. This has led to increasing number of suspected cancer referrals which, with imposition of the 28-day Faster Diagnosis Standard implemented in 2020, has further burdened the...

Older patients hospitalised for pneumonia: what factors determine survival after discharge?

A high proportion of older adults hospitalised for pneumonia may have co-existing risk of aspiration due to dysphagia. The authors of this single-centre retrospective cohort study followed up patients over the age of 65 who were admitted to hospital with...

The use of 3D videos to improve patient engagement with compensatory swallowing strategies

Patients with dysphagia are often asked to use compensatory techniques or manoeuvres to facilitate safe swallowing. For example, they may be taught to do a supraglottic swallow to minimise aspiration or a specific postural adjustment to support bolus flow. These...