Rehabilitational Approach for Chronic Dysphagic Patients

This retrospective study was designed to (1) outline the profiles of chronic dysphagic patients in a rehabilitational setting, and (2) measure the effects of a rehabilitational team approach. Almost all patients attributed to neurological etiology, with stroke responsible for the major contribution (82%) of the 88 dysphagic patients. However, their symptoms mainly derived from pharyngeal stage disturbance (aspiration), with coexistence of impairments in the anticipatory (cognitive), preparatory (masticational) and oral (lingual) stages judged to be obvious importance in the clinical context. Many patients had a history of neglected dysphagic problems in the acute stage. After therapeutic intervention mainly using rehabilitational procedures, half the patients saw obvious improvement in their swallowing functions. These results suggest that the rehabilitational approach is effective for chronic dysphagic patients.