Hori R, et al. - In this prospective intervention study of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), researchers assessed the coordination between breathing and swallowing during spontaneous breathing, bi-level positive airway pressure ventilation, and continuous positive pressure ventilation (CPAP). Findings revealed the association of the expiration after swallowing (SW-E) frequency with the occurrence of swallowing-associated non-inspiratory flow (SNIF), pause duration ≤0.8 s, and timing of swallowing at the intermediate respiratory phase. The SW-E frequency was especially most substantially influenced by the occurrence of SNIF. Reduction in the inspiration after swallowing frequency, increase in the SNIF occurrence, and normalization of the timing of swallowing were found to be caused by CPAP, all of these are indicative of the ability of CPAP in alleviating aspiration risk in COPD patients.