Multidisciplinary approach to patients with post-stroke dysphagia to improve swallowing and quality of life

Abstract

Introduction/Objective This study aimed to investigate the impact of multidisciplinary management led by brain–heart health experts on the quality of life (QoL) of patients suffering from post-stroke dysphagia.

Methods A total of 194 patients with post-stroke dysphagia, treated between January 2021 and June 2024, were selected and randomly assigned to a control group (99 cases, standard care) and an observation group (95 cases, multidisciplinary management by brain–heart health experts). Both groups received intervention for three months. The swallowing function, clinical efficacy, nutritional risk and QoL were compared between the two groups before and after the intervention using the water-swallowing test (WST), the Gugging Swallowing Screen (GUSS), Nutritional risk screening 2002 (NRS2002) and stroke-specific QoL scale (SS-QOL).

Results Compared to the pre-intervention period, both the observation group and the control group exhibited reduced WST grades, GUSS scores and NRS2002 screening risks post-intervention (p < 0.05), with a significant increase in the SS-QOL scores (p < 0.05). Compared with the control group, the observation group demonstrated lower WST grades, GUSS scores and NRS2002 screening risks post-intervention (p < 0.05). The clinical efficacy of the observation group was superior to that of the control group (p < 0.05), and the SS-QOL scores in the observation group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05).

Conclusion Multidisciplinary management led by brain–heart health experts significantly improved swallowing functions, reduced malnutrition risk and enhanced QoL in patients with post-stroke dysphagia.

Keywords: dysphagia; stroke; brain–heart health experts; multidisciplinary care; quality of life