IJFANS International Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences

ISSN PRINT 2319 1775 Online 2320-7876

Screening Dysphagia in Acute Stroke

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Taniya Raj, Dr Turin Martina2

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Stroke is usually associated with swallowing difficulties. Some other difficulties along with dysphagia after stroke are dehydration, pneumonia, malnutrition and even death. Thereby the fundamental objectives of this research is to evaluate the severity of dysphagia with the help of “Mann Assessment of Swallowing Ability” a screening tool used for stroke patients. Methodology: In the methodology part of the study, this is an observational study. In this study 60 subjects admitted in an acute hospital with stroke were involved. The age of those subjects were between 20 years to 75 years. Results: The study revealed that 80% of individuals had ischemic stroke. Remaining 15% were affected by hemorrhagic stroke and the other 5% had hematoma. When all the data is in, the MASA shows that 48% of patients have mild dysphagia without any aspiration, while 30% of stroke patients have dysphagia with aspiration. A total of 11% of the subjects had mild dysphagia with the risk of aspiration, 7% had moderate dysphagia with the risk of aspiration, and 4% had chronic aspiration risk. Conclusion: From this study, it can be concluded that , early intervention for swallowing difficulties is possible with screening for dysphagia immediately with acute stroke. Identification of dysphagia at the earlier phase can effectively decrease the length of hospital stay and in turn minimize the treatment cost for treating aspiration pneumonia.

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