Evidence-based bedside swallowing assessment by nurses for the patients with stroke

Abstract

Background and Purpose

Stroke is the loss of brain’s function caused by hypoxia of brain cells depending on the severity and the location of the stroke. In Hong Kong, strokes are the 4th leading cause of death and morbidity in the year of 2010. Dysphagia is a common morbidity related to stroke. Approximately, 50% of stroke patients with dysphagia are suffered with aspiration and aspiration pneumonia which may lead to increased length of stay in hospitals, mortality rate and medical costs. An early nursing dysphagic screening and assessment protocol can help in early detect of dysphagia and therefore help to reduce incidence of aspiration and pneumonia. In order to understand the effectiveness of the nursing dysphagic screening and assessment protocol for the acute stroke patients, a number of studies have been reviewed to gather evidences for the translational research. A bedside nursing swallowing screening and assessment for patients with stroke is developed by incorporating findings from the literature review.

Review Question

In comparison to the routine care, is the nursing dysphagia assessment intended for the acute stroke patients more effective in reducing (1) the waiting time for having swallow assessment and the (2) the incidence of aspiration and pneumonia?

Methods

A systematic review of literatures from Ovid Medline (from 1946 to 2012), Pubmed (all dates), CINAHL Plus (from 1971 to 2012) and China Journal Net (from 1912 to 2012) was conducted. Five studies of bedside swallow screening and assessment that can be performed by nurses were selected and critically appraised using the recognized assessment criteria.

Results

The key components identified from the reviewed studies including swallowing assessment should be performed by trained nurses and acute stroke patients should be alert and able and can keep the sit up position during the swallowing assessment. Moreover, water swallowing test must be included as a part of the swallow assessment and assessment should best be performed in daily basic. Patients should be keeping nil of mouth when they failed the screening and referred for further assessment and management. Implementation potential in terms of transferability, feasibility and the cost benefit ratio of the proposed innovation were assessed. A communication plan was developed for the integration of the proposed innovation into the clinical setting. Outcome measures such as positive predictive value of detecting dysphagia, mean waiting time of waiting the initial swallow screening, occurrence of pneumonia, staff knowledge and compliance were identified to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed innovation and guideline.

Conclusion

The findings of this systematic review showed that the nursing dysphagic swallow screening and assessment is effective in detecting the dysphagia of the acute stroke patients. Further development of the proposed innovation will be conducted in the clinical setting in order to satisfy the needs of the acute stroke patients.