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BACKGROUND: Post-stroke dysphagia leads to increased risk of aspiration and subsequent higher risk of pneumonia. It is important to not only diagnose post-stroke dysphagia early but also to evaluate the protective mechanism that counteracts aspiration, i.e., primarily cough. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value of cough frequency in addition to aspiration risk for pneumonia outcome. METHODS: This was a single-center prospective observational study. Patients with first-ever strokes underwent clinical swallowing evaluation, fibreoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES), and overnight cough recording using LEOSound® (Löwenstein Medical GmbH & Co. KG, Bad Ems, Germany ). Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS) ratings and cough frequency measurements were correlated with incidence of pneumonia at discharge. RESULTS: 11 women (37%) and 19 men (63%), mean age 70.3 years (SD ± 10.6), with ischemic stroke and dysphagia were enrolled. Correlation analysis showed statistically significant relationships between pneumonia and PAS (r = 0.521; p < 0.05), hourly cough frequency (r = 0,441; p < 0.05), and categories of cough severity (r = 0.428 p < 0.05), respectively. Logistic regression showed significant predictive effects of PAS (b = 0.687; p = 0.014) and cough frequency (b = 0.239; p = 0.041) for pneumonia outcome. CONCLUSION: Cough frequency in addition to aspiration risk was an independent predictor of pneumonia in dysphagic stroke survivors.
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BACKGROUND: Dysphagia assessment in postacute stroke patients can decrease the incidence of complications like malnutrition, dehydration, and aspiration pneumonia. It also helps to avoid unnecessary diet restrictions. The aim of this study is to verify if regular reassessment of dysphagia would change the diet management of postacute stroke patients in rehabilitation settings. METHODS: This single-center retrospective study included 63 patients referred to an inpatient neurological rehabilitation center between 2018-2019. A standardized clinical swallowing evaluation and Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) were performed. Diet level according to Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) was evaluated. As the primary endpoint, the FOIS values based on diagnostic procedures were assessed at hospital discharge, rehabilitation admission, and after FEES. RESULTS: 19 women (30%) and 44 men (70%), with a mean age of 75 y (SD ± 10.08), were enrolled. The intergroup ANOVA revealed significant differences (p < 0.001) between dietary prescriptions in an acute care setting and following clinical and endoscopic reassessment in the rehabilitation center. Diet recommendations changed in 41 of 63 (65%) enrolled patients (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Instrumental diagnostic by FEES during the early convalescence period of stroke patients leads to clinically relevant changes to diet restrictions and lower rates of pneumonia. Our findings underline the need for regular and qualitative dysphagia diagnostics in stroke patients participating in neurological rehabilitation.
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OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 pandemic affects a large number of patients. The impact on feasibility and outcome of rehabilitation during COVID-19 actually remains unclear. Nosocomial infection of healthcare workers or hospitalized patients is common, and prevention of nosocomial infections during rehabilitation is challenging. Therefore, we analyzed a cohort of nosocomial infected COVID-19 patients in a single-center inpatient rehabilitation clinic and described performance and outcome. DESIGN: The cohort (N = 27) describes patients with nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection while participating in neuromusculoskeletal rehabilitation. Infection was caused by an initially unidentified so-called superspreader. We compared this cohort with all neuromusculoskeletal rehabilitation inpatients of 2019 (comparison group). Normally distributed continuous variables were presented as mean with standard deviation and the t test was used for comparison between groups. Linear regression was used to assess the impact of COVID-19 on Functional Independence Measure at discharge. RESULTS: COVID-19 patients were mostly male (66.7%) with an age of 71.5 ± 12.3 yrs. Age, sex, and cumulated comorbidities of the comparison group (n = 786) were not different from the COVID-19 group. A total of 92.6% of COVID-19 patients had a mild or moderate course, two patients had to be referred to acute hospital because of respiratory failure, and one of these patients died in the acute hospital. After implementation of a strict hygiene concept, no further nosocomial COVID-19 infections were detected. The rehabilitation duration was significantly longer in the COVID-19 group (54.2 ± 23.6 days vs. 32.1 ± 17.7 days, P < 0.001). Daily therapy duration was 132.3 ± 44 mins before SARS-CoV-2 infection and reduced to 81.9 ± 27.3 mins during COVID-19 (P < 0.001). After discontinuation of isolation measures, therapy duration increased significantly (99.3 ± 70.2 mins, P < 0.05).The baseline Functional Independence Measure score was higher in the COVID-19 group (91.93 ± 25.64 points vs. 82.98 ± 22.73 points) and Functional Independence Measure improvements were lower in COVID-19 patients than in the 2019 comparison group (6.96 ± 8.96 points vs. 20.3 ± 15.98 points, P < 0.001). COVID-19 infection itself had a strong negative impact on Functional Independence Measure change as identified by regression analysis. Linear regression analysis showed that COVID-19 reduced the Functional Independence Measure at discharge by 8.9 points (95% CI = -14.725 to -3.097, P = 0.003) after correction for Functional Independence Measure at admission, age, sex, and morbidity index at admission. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 had a strong negative impact on rehabilitation benefits as assessed by Functional Independence Measure. Neuromusculoskeletal rehabilitation could be continued, but all patients received less therapy minutes during isolation. After implementation of a strict COVID-19-specific hygiene concept, no further infections were detected.
