Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Mar 23:e13338.
doi: 10.1111/nmo.13338. Online ahead of print.

Prevalence, risk factors and complications of oropharyngeal dysphagia in stroke patients: A cohort study

L Rofes  1   2 , D Muriana  3 , E Palomeras  3 , N Vilardell  1 , E Palomera  4 , D Alvarez-Berdugo  1   2 , V Casado  3 , P Clavé  1   2
Affiliations

Prevalence, risk factors and complications of oropharyngeal dysphagia in stroke patients: A cohort study

L Rofes et al. Neurogastroenterol Motil. .

Abstract

Background: Oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) is a prevalent poststroke condition with severe complications and increased mortality. Poststroke OD prevalence varies among studies and there is little evidence of its related risk factors and associated complications.

Objective: to evaluate the prevalence of OD after stroke and the risk factors and associated complications.

Methods: We performed a prospective longitudinal study of stroke patients consecutively admitted to a general hospital. OD was diagnosed with the volume-viscosity swallow test (V-VST). Demographic, functional status and topographical and clinical variables of stroke were collected to assess risk factors for OD. We evaluated functional status, mortality, respiratory infections, and readmissions 3 and 12 months after stroke. A multivariate regression analysis determined associated risk factors for OD and for each outcome variable.

Key results: We included 395 stroke patients with a 45.06% prevalence of OD on admission. OD was independently associated with age (OR = 1.05; CI = 1.02-1.08), previous stroke (OR = 2.40; CI = 1.00-5.79), severity using the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (OR = 3.52; CI = 1.57-7.87) and volume of the lesion (OR = 1.02; CI = 1.01-1.03). OD after stroke was an independent risk factor for prolonged hospital stay (P = .049; β = 0.938) and institutionalization after discharge (OR = 0.47; CI = 0.24-0.92); OD was an independent risk factor for poorer functional capacity (OR = 3.00; CI = 1.58-5.68) and increased mortality (HR = 6.90; CI = 1.57-30.34) 3 months after stroke.

Conclusions & inferences: Poststroke OD is prevalent and associated with poor short and long term prognosis. Stroke severity and patient status before stroke were more relevant to OD than lesion location. Systematic screening programs and early OD management could significantly improve poststroke patient outcome.

Keywords: cohort study; dysphagia; prevalence studies; risk factors; stroke.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources