Otolaryngology

Effects of oral intake of water in patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia

Dysphagia is associated with numerous medical conditions and the major intervention to avoid aspiration in people with dysphagia involves modifying the diet to thickened fluids. This is associated with issues related to patient quality of life and in many cases non-compliance leading to dehydration. Given these concerns and in the absence of conclusive scientific evidence, a study further investigates the effects of oral intake of water in people with dysphagia. Findings indicate a significantly increased risk in the development of lung complications in patients given access to water (6/42; 14.3%) compared to the control group (0/34; no cases) and results show and increased total fluid intake in the patients allowed access to water. The quality of life surveys, albeit from a limited number of patients (4% of patients), suggest the dissatisfaction of patients to diets composed of only thickened fluids. On the basis of these findings authors recommend that acute patients, patients with severe neurological dysfunction and immobility, should be strongly encouraged to adhere to a thickened fluid or modified solid consistency diet.
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 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2318/11/9...

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