| Objective: To observe the eating safety and the effects of changing fluidity features combined with swallowing treatment on post-stroke dysphagia (drinking water induced choking cough). Methods: Eighty patients with drinking water-induced choking cough resulting from stroke were randomly divided into experiment group 1, experiment group 2, experiment group 3 and control group, with 20 patients in each group. Patients in the experiment group 1 received changing the fluidity feature (thickening fluids) treatment, those in the experiment group 2 received swallowing treatment, those in the experiment groups 3 received changing the fluidity feature (thickening liquid) + swallowing treatment, and those in control group did not receive changing liquid feature and swallowing treatment. Drinking water test and the swallowing function classification were used to assess the swallowing function respectively before treatment and at 1st, 2nd and 4th week after treatment (or the end of treatment). The curative rate, lung infection rate, indwelling gastric tube rate and the average treatment days of patients cured were compared. Results: Drinking water test and the swallowing function classification showed that the curative rate was higher at next time point than that at the previous time point in experiment group 3 at 2nd and 4th week after treatment (P<0.05). The curative rate was significantly increased in experiment group 3 as compared with that in control group and experiment group 1 and experiment group 2 at the same time point (P<0.05). The curative rate was significantly higher in experiment group 2 than in control group at 4th week after treatment (P<0.05). The rates of lung infection and indwelling gastric tube in the experiment groups were significantly lower after treatment than those before treatment and in control group after treatment (P<0.05). The curative rate in experiment group 2 and experiment group 3 was significantly higher than that in experiment group 1 (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between experiment group 2 and experiment group 3. As compared with the experiment groups 1 and 2, the average treatment days were significantly shortened in experiment group 3 (P<0.05).Conclusion: Changeing liquid feature, swallowing treatment, or changing liquid feature combined with swallowing therapy all have a certain helpful to eat liquid food safely for patients with post-stroke dysphagia, but the change of liquid features combined with swallowing therapy can not only improve drinking water induced choking cough early, reduce aspiration and pulmonary infection, guarantee the safety of patients to eat liquid food significantly, but also can improve the patient's swallowing function significantly and shorten the course of treatment. |
