Introduction
Materials and methods
Patient population
Measurements - clinical assessment of swallowing
Variable | Clinician’s judgment | |
---|---|---|
Water swallow test (5 ml)
| Extra oral loss | Water does not escape from the lips, manages bolus adequately - pass |
Difficulty in managing bolus, presents drooling/spillage from the mouth - fail | ||
Oral transit time | Swallows the bolus within 4 seconds - pass | |
Takes longer than 4 seconds to swallow bolus or does not swallow - fail | ||
Nasal reflux | Water does not escape from the nasal cavities - pass | |
Water comes out from the nasal cavities - fail | ||
Multiple swallows per bolus | Presents one swallow per bolus - pass | |
Presents more than one swallow per bolus, presents drooling/spillage from the mouth, needs cues to complete the task - fail | ||
Laryngeal elevation (monitored by positioning the index and middle fingers over the hyoid bone and the thyroid cartilage) | Reaches an average elevation of two fingers of the examiner - pass | |
Does not present laryngeal elevation or presents average elevation of less than two fingers of the examiner - fail | ||
Cervical auscultation (a stethoscope is placed at the lateral aspects above the cricoids cartilage in front of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and large vessels) | Presents the three characteristic sounds indicating that the bolus has gone through the pharynx - two clicks followed by an expiratory sound - pass | |
Does not present any sound or sounds other than those described above - fail | ||
Oxygen saturation (baseline oxygen saturation registered prior to the swallowing test using a monitor or pulse oximetry) | Does not present changes in oxygen saturation in more than 4 units - pass | |
Presents changes in oxygen saturation in more than 4 units - fail | ||
Voice quality | Does not present any alterations within the first minute after swallowing - pass | |
Voice becomes gurgly (‘wet’) within the first minute after swallowing - fail | ||
Cough | Does not cough within the first minute after swallowing - pass | |
Presence of cough (voluntary or not) followed or not by throat clearing within the first minute after swallowing - fail | ||
Choking | Does not choke after swallowing - pass | |
Chokes during and/or after swallowing - fail | ||
Other signs (cardiac and respiratory frequencies) | Does not present significant changes in cardiac frequency (60–100 beats per minute) and in respiratory frequency (12–20 breaths per minute) - pass | |
Presents signs of cyanoses, bronchospasm and significant alterations of the vital signs - fail | ||
Puree/solid swallow test (3, 5, 10 ml; half a piece of bread)
| Extra oral loss | Bolus does not escape from the lips, manages bolus adequately - pass |
Difficulty in managing the bolus, presents spillage from the mouth - fail | ||
Oral transit time | Swallows the bolus within 20 seconds - pass | |
Takes longer than 20 seconds to swallow the bolus or does not swallow - fail | ||
Nasal reflux | The bolus does not escape from the nasal cavities - pass | |
The bolus comes out from the nasal cavities - fail | ||
Oral residue | Presents absence or up to 25% of bolus residue in the oral cavity - pass | |
Presents more than 25% of bolus residue in the oral cavity - fail | ||
Multiple swallows per bolus | Presents one to three swallows per bolus - pass | |
Presents more than three swallows per bolus, presents drooling/spillage from the mouth, needs cues to complete task - fail | ||
Laryngeal elevation (monitored with the positioning of the index and middle fingers over the hyoid bone and the thyroid cartilage) | Reaches an average elevation of two fingers of the examiner - pass | |
Does not present laryngeal elevation or presents average elevation of less than two fingers of the examiner - fail | ||
Cervical auscultation (a stethoscope is placed at the lateral aspects above the cricoids cartilage in front of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and large vessels) | Presents the three characteristic sounds indicating that the bolus has gone through the pharynx - two clicks followed by an expiratory sound - pass | |
Does not present any sound or sounds other than those described above - fail | ||
Oxygen saturation (baseline oxygen saturation registered prior to the swallowing test using a monitor or pulse oximetry) | Does not present changes in oxygen saturation in more than 4 units - pass | |
Presents changes in oxygen saturation in more than 4 units - fail | ||
Voice quality | Does not present any alterations within the first minute after swallowing - pass | |
Voice becomes gurgly (‘wet’) within the first minute after swallowing - fail | ||
Cough | Does not cough within the first minute after swallowing - pass | |
Presence of cough (voluntary or not) followed or not by throat clearing within the first minute after swallowing - fail | ||
Choking | Does not choke after swallowing - pass | |
Chokes during and/or after swallowing - fail | ||
Other signs (cardiac and respiratory frequencies) | Does not present significant changes in cardiac frequency (60–100 beats per minute) and in respiratory frequency (12–20 breaths per minute) - pass | |
Presents signs of cyanoses, bronchospasm and significant alterations of the vital signs - fail |
Level 1 | Individual is not able to swallow safely by mouth. All nutrition and hydration is received through non-oral means (for example nasogastric tube). |
Level 2 | Individual is not able to swallow safely by mouth for nutrition and hydration but may take some consistency with consistent maximal cues in therapy only. Alternative method of feeding is required. |
Level 3 | Alternative method of feeding is required as individual takes less than 50% of nutrition and hydration by mouth, and/or swallowing is safe with consistent use of moderate cues to use compensatory strategies and/or requires maximum diet restriction. |
Level 4 | Swallowing is safe but usually requires moderate cues to use compensatory strategies, and/or individual has moderate diet restriction and/or still requires tube feeding and/or oral supplements. |
Level 5 | Swallow is safe with minimal diet restriction and/or occasionally requires minimal cueing to use compensatory strategies. May occasionally self cue. All nutrition and hydration needs are met by mouth at mealtime. |
Level 6 | Swallowing is safe, and individual eats and drinks independently and may rarely require minimal cueing. Usually self cues when difficulty occurs. May need to avoid specific food items (for example popcorn and nuts), or requires additional time (due to dysphagia). |
Level 7 | Individual’s ability to eat independently is not limited by swallow function. Swallowing would be safe and efficient for all consistencies. Compensatory strategies are effectively used when needed. |
Prognostic indicators
Indicators | Definition | |
---|---|---|
General
| Dysphagia severity rate 1 (DSR1) | ASHA NOMS swallowing level at initial swallowing assessment |
Dysphagia severity rate 2 (DSR2) | ASHA NOMS swallowing level at dysphagia resolution/hospital discharge | |
Time to initiate oral feeding (TOF) | Time to start oral feeding after DSR1 (in days) | |
Amount of individual treatment (revenue value unit (RVU)) | Amount of individual swallowing treatment until dysphagia resolution/hospital discharge (in RVUs) | |
Specific to the group of patients
| Number of orotracheal intubations (NOI) | Total number of orotracheal intubations |
Intubation time (IT) | Total duration of orotracheal intubation (in hours) | |
Length of hospital stay (LS) | Time from hospital admission to discharge (in days) |
Data analysis
Results
Variable | Mean | Median | SD | Min | Max | Q | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
25 | 50 | 75 | ||||||
AGE
| 53.26 | 55 | 17.40 | 18 | 90 | 43 | 55 | 65 |
LS
| 43.07 | 34 | 30.96 | 9 | 197 | 21 | 34 | 58 |
NOI
| 1.08 | 1 | 0.27 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
IT
| 187.70 | 144 | 123.25 | 0 | 720 | 4 | 6 | 10 |
TOF
| 4.58 | 0 | 10.51 | 0 | 57 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
RVU
| 6.59 | 4 | 5.88 | 1.33 | 41.33 | 2.67 | 4 | 8 |
ASHA NOMS levels at initial swallowing assessment | ASHA NOMS levels at discharge | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
ASHA NOMS levels | N | % | N | % |
1. Not able to swallow by mouth | 10 | 6.75 | 7 | 4.73 |
2. Takes some consistency with maximal cues | 48 | 32.43 | 11 | 7.43 |
3. Takes less than 50% of nutrition by mouth with moderate cues | 27 | 18.24 | 12 | 8.11 |
4. Swallowing is safe with moderate cues | 63 | 42.56 | 15 | 10.14 |
5. Swallowing is safe with minimal cues | 0 | 0 | 14 | 9.65 |
6. Swallowing is safe and rarely requires minimal cues | 0 | 0 | 36 | 24.31 |
7. Swallowing is efficient, individual is independent | 0 | 0 | 53 | 35.81 |
DSR1 - ASHA NOMS level | N | RVU (mean) |
---|---|---|
1. Not able to swallow by mouth | 10 | 13.73 |
2. Takes some consistency with maximal cues | 48 | 7.50 |
3. Takes less than 50% of nutrition by mouth with moderate cues | 27 | 6.52 |
4. Swallowing is safe with moderate cues | 63 | 4.80 |
5. Swallowing is safe with minimal cues | - | - |
6. Swallowing is safe and rarely requires minimal cues | - | - |
7. Swallowing is efficient, individual is independent. | - | - |
OR | P value | CI (95%) | |
---|---|---|---|
DSR1
| 2.294 | 0.001* | 1.590 – 3.310 |
Gender
| 1.569 | 0.200 | 0.788 – 3.124 |
Age
| 0.989 | 0.253 | 0.970 – 1.008 |
TOF
| 0.960 | 0.025* | 0.926 – 0.995 |
RVU
| 0.949 | 0.085* | 0.894 – 1.007 |
NOI
| 0.922 | 0.894 | 0.278 – 3.055 |
IT
| 1.011 | 0.742 | 0.947 – 1.079 |
LS
| 0.998 | 0.665 | 0.987 – 1.008 |
OR | P value | CI (95%) | |
---|---|---|---|
DSR1
| 1.547 | 0.050 | 0.999 – 2.396 |
TOF
| 0.986 | 0.560 | 0.942 – 1.033 |
RVU
| 0.964 | 0.394 | 0.885 – 1.049 |
Gender | Age | TOF | RVU | NOI | IT | LS | ||||||||
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DSR1
| −0.403 | 0.68 | −0.142 | 0.08 | −0.590 | 0.00 | −0.322 | 0.00 | 0.014 | 0.86 | −0.051 | 0.53 | −0.018 | 0.82 |
Gender
| - | - | −0.067 | 0.94 | −0.421 | 0.67 | −0.258 | 0.79 | −0.383 | 0.70 | −0.950 | 0.34 | −0.337 | 0.73 |
Age
| - | - | - | - | 0.172 | 0.48 | 0.182 | 0.02 | −0.017 | 0.83 | −0.159 | 0.54 | 0.039 | 0.63 |
TOF
| - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.584 | 0.00 | −0.031 | 0.72 | 0.064 | 0.46 | 0.159 | 0.06 |
RVU
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | −0.139 | 0.09 | 0.073 | 0.38 | 0.300 | 0.00 |
NOI
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.340 | 0.00 | 0.237 | 0.00 |
IT
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0.165 | 0.04 |
Discussion
Conclusions
Key messages
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The development of postextubation swallowing dysfunction is well documented in the literature with high prevalence in most studies, ranging from 44 to 87%.
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The results of this study suggest the swallowing functional level at admission as a significant prognostic indicator of good swallowing outcome.
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This study represents the largest group of Brazilian patients submitted to prolonged OTI who have been assessed for possible prognostic indicators related to the swallowing functional outcome at hospital discharge.
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Postextubation dysphagia persists at the time of discharge in a large portion of patients (59 (40%) of 148 patients in our study).
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When looking at developing countries, the prolonged intensive medical and nursing care required by many patients places extra demands on a stretched health care budget. Knowing the statistically significant factors that contribute to patient outcome as determined by this study reiterates the urgency for accuracy and consistency during the initial assessment within a health facility.