The Benefit of Dysphagia Screening in Adult Patients With Stroke: A Meta-Analysis
Journal of the American Heart Association
Sherman, V., Greco, E., et al. (2021).
Journal of the American Heart Association, 10(12), e018753.
This systematic review and meta-analysis assessed the impact of dysphagia screening provision on health related outcomes (e.g., pneumonia, nutrition/hydration, death or dependency, length of stay) in individuals status post stroke.
Not stated
From database inception to December 2019
Peer-reviewed studies
30
<div>For adults with acute stroke, early dysphagia screening was associated with reduced:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>risk for pneumonia (OR = 0.57);</li>
<li>mortality (OR = 0.52);</li>
<li>overall dependency on non-oral feeding (OR = 0.54); and</li>
<li>length of stay (SMD = −0.62).</li>
</ul>
<div>When the screening tool was administered by clinicians other than speech-language pathologists, only the health benefits for pneumonia and overall dependency persisted.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Lack of use of valid and reliable screening tools, potential selection bias towards patients with more severe strokes, and reduced methodological rigor were notable limitations of included studies.</div>
</div>
