Quantifying Swallowing Function after Stroke

Background and Aim: stroke patients suffer from dysphagia, which is the most significant risk factor for the development of pneumonia and could also delay the patient’s functional recovery.۱-۳ Pneumonia accounts for about ۳۴% of all stroke-related deaths and is the third-highest causeof death during the first month after a stroke. In the present study we sought to develop a quantitative functional dysphagia scale, based on a videofluoroscopy, which could comprehensively reflect the swallowing functions of stroke patients. Materials and Methods: This review article is about Quantifying Swallowing Function After Stroke from Science Direct, Pro quest and Pub med Data Bases. ۱۲ articles had been selected according to inclusion criteria from ۲۰۱۱ to ۲۰۱۹ and ۳ of them had been deleted by exclusion criteria. Results: The present study pioneered the development of a functional dysphagia scale using videofluoroscopic results of the acute and subacute stages of stroke patients. Because of earlier detection and management of swallowing difficulty in stroke patients, early videofluoroscopy would help reduce the chance of aspiration pneumonia. We believe that the functional dysphagia scale should be evaluated in other diseases. Naturally, this will call for further research. Conclusion: Dysphagia and aspiration pneumonia frequently occur as poststroke complications. Videofluoroscopy is well suited to studying the anatomy and physiology of the oral, pharyngeal, and esophageal stages of deglutition and to defining management strategies that will improve the dysphagic patient’s swallowing safety or efficiency.

Keywords:

Deglutition , Pneumonia , Stroke