Abstract
(1) Background: Dysphagia is common in acute stroke patients and is a major risk factor for aspiration pneumonia. We investigated whether the early detection of dysphagia in stroke patients through screening could prevent the development of pneumonia and reduce mortality; (2) Methods: We searched the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Scopus databases for relevant studies published up to November 2021. We included studies that performed dysphagia screening in acute stroke patients and evaluated whether it could prevent pneumonia and reduce mortality rates. The methodological quality of individual studies was evaluated using the Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies of Interventions tool, and publication bias was evaluated by the funnel plot and Egger’s test; (3) Results: Of the 6593 identified studies, six studies met the inclusion criteria for analysis. The screening group had a significantly lower incidence of pneumonia than the nonscreening group did (odds ratio (OR), 0.60; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.42 to 0.84; p = 0.003; I2, 66%). There was no significant difference in mortality rate between the two groups (OR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.33 to 1.13; p = 0.11; I2, 93%); (4) Conclusions: Early screening for dysphagia in acute stroke patients can prevent the development of pneumonia.
Highlights
Dysphagia develops in over half of patients with acute stroke [1]
Study Selection We applied the following inclusion criteria for the selection of articles: (1) acute stroke patients were recruited for the study; (2) dysphagia screening was conducted in the intervention group and not in the control group; and (3) the development of pneumonia or number of deaths was evaluated in both groups
In our meta-analysis, we found that dysphagia screening can prevent the development of pneumonia in patients with acute stroke
Summary
Dysphagia develops in over half of patients with acute stroke [1]. The incidence of aspiration pneumonia in stroke patients with dysphagia is reported to be 20–47% [3,4]. The early detection of dysphagia in stroke patients by screening would prevent the occurrence of pneumonia and result in good clinical outcomes. Previous studies have evaluated the preventive effect of dysphagia screening on the development of aspiration pneumonia in patients with acute stroke [6,7,8,9,10,11]. To accurately determine the effect of dysphagia screening in acute stroke patients, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of all available and relevant clinical studies related to this topic
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
