Furthermore, the LST was not predictive of viscosity.
Whereas the LST was able to separate the juices into nectar and honey categories, it was not able to separate barium mixtures into these categories nor compare barium to juices. Twenty-six liquids (10 powder-thickened “nectar” juices, 10 powder-thickened “honey” juices, and 6 barium mixtures) were assessed using both a viscometer for objective measurement of viscosity and the LST. The current study analyzed the utility of the Line Spread Test (LST) in this regard. This lack of standardization leads to variability in practice and points to the need for a simple tool for clinicians to assess thickened liquid consistency. Although dietary modification is a common treatment strategy used to manage dysphagic patients who aspirate thin liquids, there are no standard definitions for thickened liquid preparation.
