Preliminary research for the possibility of predicting the prognosis by the tongue pressure of dysphagic patients in the acute stage without stroke

Abstract

【Background】The predictive value of tongue pressure on the prognosis of swallowing function has not been sufficiently studied, especially in patients without stroke. 【Methods】Thirty‐nine patients with dysphagia were classified as heart surgery group (17 patients), neurological disease group (11 patients), and aspiration pneumonia disused group. We examined whether there were any differences among the groups regarding the degree of improvement in tongue pressure and the median number of hospital days. 【Results】Among the disease groups, the “heart surgery group" showed a median tongue pressure of 24.4 (6.4‐26.9), length of hospitalization of 14 days (11‐15), and degree of improvement of 0 (0‐0‐0). For the neurological disease group, median tongue pressure was 15.3 (12.6‐18.4), length of stay 19 days (11‐16), and improvement 0 (‐1‐0). For the “cardiovascular group," median tongue pressure was 23.4 (20.9‐28.7), length of stay 28.5 days (20‐46), and the degree of improvement 2 (1‐2). Significant differences were seen in the median level of dysphagia tongue pressure, improvement and length of hospital stay between the three groups. Higher tongue pressure was positively associated with better FOIS (r=0.332, p<0.05). In univariate analyses, the degree of improvement in FOIS was associated with the median change in tongue pressure (p<0.01) and length of hospital stay (p<0.05). However, in multivariate analyses, improvement in FOIS was significantly associated in the “cardiovascular group" (OR=14.218, p<0.01) but not with tongue pressure values. 【Conclusion】Our results suggest that the degree of improvement of swallowing function is dependent on the disease factors causing the dysphagia.