Effect of thickeners combined with swallowing exercises for patients with post‑stroke dysphagia

Abstract

The present study examined the effect of thickeners combined with swallowing exercises on patients with dysphagia following stroke. A non‑control, one‑group pre‑test/post‑test quasi‑experiment was conducted. A convenience sampling method was used to recruit patients between July, 2020 and May, 2021. A total of 33 patients were treated by swallowing rehabilitation and oral feeding with thickeners. Their swal‑ lowing status was measured using the Mann Assessment of Swallowing Ability (MASA) scale. The proportion of patients with severe dysphagia decreased from 12.1 to 9.1% after 5 days, to 3% after 10 days and to no dysphagia after 15 days of treatment. The number of patients who were no longer at risk of developing aspiration pneumonia increased from 33.3 to 54.6% after 5 days, to 75.8% after 10 days and to 90.9% after 15 days of treatment. All symptoms of dysphagia improved. As regards early intervention (1‑4 weeks), the percentage of patients without dysphagia after 15 days was higher than that of those with moderate and severe dysphagia. On the whole, the present study demonstrates that a combination of swallowing exercises and using thickeners to adjust the diet for patients with dysphagia helps to reduce the severity of swallowing dysfunction and aspiration. Patients who received early intervention had a better prognosis. Swallowing exercises combined with thickeners should thus be used in adults in post‑stroke dysphagia rehabilitation programs.