Clinical evaluation of dysphagia as a prognosis factor in stroke patients: preliminary results

Background: Dysphagia is a complication of stroke that frequently affects patients, with diagnosis occurring in 40-70% of cases within the first 3 days. This condition can prolong hospitalization, increase the risk of mortality and increase healthcare costs. Furthermore, some patients will experience prolonged dysphagia, which increases risks such as pneumonia, dehydration and reduces quality of life. Therefore, it is essential to clinically evaluate dysphagia as a prognostic factor in stroke patients, considering the severity of dysphagia, in order to improve medical care for these patients. Objective: To analyze dysphagia as a prognostic factor in patients who have suffered a stroke. Methods: This work is an observational and retrospective cohort study, descriptive and was based on the partial collection of secondary data from electronic medical records of patients previously admitted to a reference hospital in the city of Salvador, Bahia. The study population consists of patients diagnosed with stroke, aged 18 years or older, who were admitted to the hospital between January 2021 and December 2022. Variables of interest include: sex, age, date of admission, infection, length of hospital stay, complications and mortality. Excel and SPSS software were used for data analysis. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee. Results: To date, the study sample size is 178 patients and, among them, 86 (48.3%) patients presented dysphagia. Of the total number of patients, 128 were aged >60 years (median 75 years), with 68 (53.1%) having dysphagia (43 women 63.2% and 25 men 36.8%). Regarding the number of patients who cont racted infection during hospitalization: 7 (25%) of patients with severe dysphagia developed infection, 5 (18.5%) of patients with moderate dysphagia developed infection and 7 (22.6%) of patients with mild dysphagia developed infection. And in relation to length of stay, patients with dysphagia had an average of 20.4 days of hospitalization (standard deviation 21.4) and a maximum length of stay of 150 days. Patients without dysphagia had an average of 11.5 days (standard deviation of 11.9) and a maximum hospitalization of 66 days. Conclusion: It is clear that dysphagia is a prevalent and significant condition in patients who have suffered a stroke, considerably impacting the prognosis of these individuals. The majority of stroke patients evaluated had some degree of dysphagia, significantly increasing hospitalization time, with more severe cases being associated with a higher incidence of infections during hospitalization. Therefore, early identification and appropriate treatment of dysphagia are essential to optimize healthcare and clinical outcomes for these patients.