Treatment of Post-stroke Dysphagia With Interferential Current: Three Case Reports and a Review of the Literature

Abstract

Stroke is damage to the central nervous system due to vascular pathology. Stroke causes many complications. One of the most important of these complications is dysphagia. Dysphagia is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In recent years, the benefits of using interferential current (IFC) stimulation in the treatment of dysphagia due to various etiologies have been demonstrated. However, there are significant gaps in the literature regarding patient populations, treatment procedures, and evaluation of treatment response. Here, we report the treatment of three cases of dysphagia after ischemic stroke with IFC stimulation and review the current literature. The patients had no previous treatment for dysphagia and were using only compensatory methods. This case report highlights the benefit of IFC stimulation in the treatment of post-stroke dysphagia both clinically and videofluoroscopically. It should be kept in mind that IFC stimulation may be an important alternative in the treatment of post-stroke dysphagia.

Keywords: dysphagia; interferential current; stimulation; stroke; swallow; therapy.

Figure 1. Current parameters of the device.

The current density of both outputs was set to 3 mA. The carrier frequency was set to 2,000 Hz, amplitude modulated frequency (AMF) was 50.0 Hz, spectrum was 10.0 Hz, and sweep frequency was set to sweeps.

Figure 2. Adhesion points of the electrodes: (A) side view; (B) front view.

Figure 3. Diffusion-weighted imaging showed areas compatible with acute infarction in the left parietotemporal area (white arrow).

Figure 4. Diffusion-weighted imaging showed acute infarct areas in bilateral frontal lobes, predominantly on the right, and in the left half of the cerebellar hemisphere (white arrow).

Figure 5. Diffusion-weighted imaging showed a large area of acute infarction in the anterior division of the cerebral artery irrigation area in the right midline (white arrow).