ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the characteristics and severity of swallowing difficulties among stroke patients with a tracheostomy tube, compared to those without. METHOD: A retrospective study was performed on two groups of 17 stroke patients with a tracheostomy tube (58.8 years) and without a tracheostomy tube (69.8 years) fed by Levine tube or a gastrostomy tube. There were no differences in the FIM (functional independence measure) score and brain lesions between the two groups. We evaluated the functional dysphagia scale (FDS) and aspiration; classified before, during, and after swallowing aspiration and silent aspiration. The swallowing task consisted of 2 ml of fluid and a videofluoroscopic swallowing study. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the oral preparatory, oral and pharyngeal phase for the two groups in FDS. However, frequency of silent aspiration (p=0.007) and the total frequency of aspiration (p=0.038) were significantly higher in patients with tracheostomy. CONCLUSION: Patients with stroke who underwent tracheostomy showed no meaningful difference in FDS. However, there were significant differences in terms of silent aspiration and the total frequency of aspiration; caused by laryngopharyngeal desensitization and the anterior tethering effect on the tracheostomy tube. We have to pay more attention to the treatment and care of patients with tracheostomy tubes.