Abstract
[Purpose] In neuromuscular diseases (NMD), dysphagia progresses under their recognition, resulting in severe respiratory complications, such as choking or aspiration pneumonia. In this study, we investigated the levels of nutrition before and after admission to a hospital, and after videoendoscopic evaluation of swallowing (VE) in NMD, and the factors associated with nutrition level after the VE.
[Methods] The subjects were 25 patients with NMD. We retrospectively investigated them by questionnaires, bedside evaluation sheets, and VE evaluation sheets. The levels of nutrition before and after admission to a hospital, and after the VE evaluation, were scored with the Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS-before, FOIS-after, FOIS-VE, respectively). We compared those FOIS scores, and tested which factors in the evaluation sheets were associated with the FOIS-VE.
[Results] Pneumonia or fever, and appetite loss were the top reasons for admission. The FOIS-after and FOIS-VE were significantly less than FOIS-before (p＜0.05). The FOIS-VE was significantly correlated with “food residue”, “voluntary cough”, and “wet hoarseness” in the bedside evaluation sheets, and “saliva retention” in the VE evaluation sheets.
[Conclusion] The present study demonstrated that the nutrition level in NMD patients significantly decreased through hospital admission. The findings in this study indicate that screening tests and oropharyngeal evaluations at adequate timings are needed to prevent severe complications. The factors associated with FOIS-VE could be indicators to identify inadequate nutrition levels.
