Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation for Post-Stroke Dysphagia Treatment: A Systemic Evaluation and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Dysphagia
Wang, Z., Xiao, Z., et al. (2024).
Dysphagia, 39, 424-432.
<div>This systematic review investigates the effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) and combined treatments (i.e. NMES alongside traditional swallowing therapy) in adults with post-stroke dysphagia. The review compares the effects of these treatments to traditional therapy alone.</div>
General Program of Huangpu District Health Commission of Shanghai (China)
From database inception to January 28, 2022
<div>Double-blind or single-blind randomized-controlled trials</div>
9
<div>When compared to traditional swallowing therapy alone, NMES alone or combined treatments of swallowing therapy and NMES had the following effects on swallowing function in adults with post-stroke dysphagia:</div>
<ul>
<li>improved Functional Oral Intake Scale scores (SMD = 0.48; 5 studies);</li>
<li>improved Penetration-Aspiration Scale scores (SMD = -0.56; 2 studies); </li>
<li>improved Swallowing Quality of Life scores (SMD = 0.57; 1 study); and</li>
<li>no significant effects on various measures of swallow function (1 study).</li>
</ul>
<div>Limitations of this study included potential for publication bias due to the exclusion of non-English papers, small sample sizes of the included studies, and a lack of investigation into safety of NMES.</div>
