Effect of dysphagia rehabilitation in patients receiving enteral nutrition at home nursing care: A retrospective cohort study

Abstract

Objective: We considered the effect of dysphagia rehabilitation and investigated parameters associated with the resumption of oral intake in the elderly patients receiving home nursing care who were not eating by mouth. Methods: The participants were 116 patients aged ≥65 years (66 men and 50 women, mean age 79.7 ± 8.9 years) who were receiving home nursing care and not eating by mouth because of dysphagia. All patients underwent dysphagia rehabilitation for 6 months with the objective of resuming oral intake. After 6 months of dysphagia rehabilitation, the patients’ eating status was assessed using the Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) and the associations of the post-intervention FOIS score with age, history of pneumonia, duration of enteral nutrition, body mass index (BMI), alertness, physical function (ability to walk) and swallowing function at the initial examination. Results: Functional Oral Intake Scale scores increased significantly after 6 months rather than those at the initial evaluation (P