A research on improving the food intake assessment method in acquired brain injury patients

Abstract

Objective To apply repetitive saliva swallowing test and standardized swallowing assessment combined with the volume-viscosity swallow test on patients with acquired brain injury, we aim to identify the potential risks of oral intake during the patients′ recovery stage, and improve the strategy of aspiration prevention. Methods Totally 142 patients with acquired brain injury were selected as the observation group during November 2016 and November 2017, and 153 patients with acquired brain injury were selected as the control group during October 2015 and October 2016. The control group was assessed by water swallow test, while a combination of the Repetitive Saliva Swallowing Test, the Standardized Swallowing Assessment and Volume-Viscosity Swallow Test was used to assess the observation group till discharging. The detection rate of aspiration risk and the incidence of aspiration pneumonia was compared between the two groups. Results The detection rate of aspiration risk was 36.6% (52/142) in the observation group and 7.8% (12/153) in the control group, the difference was statistically significant (χ2=35.899, P < 0.05). The incidence of aspiration pneumonia was 1.4% (2/142) in the observation group and 12.4% (19/153) in the control group, the difference was statistically significant (χ2=13.502, P < 0.05). Conclusions The combined application of the Repetitive Saliva Swallowing Test, the Standardized Swallowing Assessment and the Volume-Viscosity Swallow Test can improve the detection rate of aspiration risk in the acquired-brain-injury patients with suspicious swallowing dysfunction, reduce the incidence of aspiration pneumonia, increase the nursing safety, and improve the health outcomes of neurosurgical patients. Key words: Acquired brain injury; Repetitive saliva swallowing test; Standardized swallowing assessment; Volume-viscosity swallow test; Aspiration