• Zeqin Xu, Yongquan Gu, Jianxin Li, Chunmei Wang, Rong Wang, Ying Huang, and Jian Zhang.
• Department of Vascular Surgery, Xuanwu Hospital and Institute of Vascular Surgery, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China.
• J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. 2019 Jan 1; 32 (1): 85-91.

ObjectiveStroke is the most common neurological disease that is associated with deglutition disorders. The aim of this study was to analyze dysphagia and aspiration pneumonia risk factors in post-stroke elderly inpatients.MethodWe consecutively enrolled 212 stroke patients over sixty years of age from July 2014 to June 2015. Seventeen patients were eliminated. Stroke patients' demographics, clinical symptoms and biochemistry data were collected. Modified water swallowing test was used for the assessment of deglutition difficulty. These inpatients were classified into two groups: territorial anterior circulation infarction (n= 114) and territorial posterior circulation infarction (n= 82). Finally, dysphagia and aspiration pneumonia risk factor were analyzed between these two groups.ResultNumber of previous cerebral infarction, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score, masticatory muscle paralysis, abolition of gag reflex were correlated with the deglutition difficulty in these patients. In addition, NIHSS score (p= 0.017) and dysphagia (p= 0.02) were correlated with aspiration pneumonia.ConclusionIn stroke inpatients over sixty years of age, it is necessary to distinguish the patients with multiple previous cerebral infarctions, high NIHSS score, masticatory muscle paralysis, and abolition of gag reflex for early detection and rehabilitation of dysphagia.

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