Affiliations: Department of Rehabilitation, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Wei Wu, Department of Rehabilitation, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, No. 188 Shizi Street, Suzhou 215000, Jiangsu, China. Tel.: +86 18913151593; E-mail: wuwwei2324@163.com.
Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to this study.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Stroke patients often experience difficulty swallowing. OBJECTIVE:To assist in the improvement of dysphagia symptoms by introducing a novel approach to the treatment of patients with post-stroke aspiration. METHODS:A total of 60 patients with post-stroke aspiration were enrolled and divided into an experimental group (n = 30) and a control group (n = 30). The control group received standard treatment, sham intraoral stimulation, and the Masako maneuver, while the experimental group was administered standard treatment, deep pharyngeal electrical stimulation (DPES), and a modified Masako maneuver. Changes in their Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) and Rosenbek scale scores were observed. RESULTS:The FOIS scores of both groups increased significantly after treatment (p < 0.01, respectively). The Rosenbek scale scores of both groups decreased significantly after treatment, with the experimental group scoring significantly lower than the control group (1.01±0.09 vs. 2.30±0.82) (p < 0.05). After treatment, the overall response rate in the experimental group (93.33%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (83.33%) (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION:In terms of effectively improving dysphagia in aspiration patients after stroke, DPES combined with modified Masako maneuver is clinically recommended.
