• Margarita Rugaitienė, Vita Lesauskaitė, Ingrida Ulozienė, Lukas Smičius, and Gytė Damulevičienė.
• Clinical Department of Geriatrics, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, 44307 Kaunas, Lithuania.
• Medicina (Kaunas). 2024 Jun 21; 60 (7).

AbstractBackground and Objectives: Oropharyngeal dysphagia is defined as a swallowing disorder in which it becomes difficult to form a bolus and move food from the mouth to the proximal part of the esophagus. Several factors can cause this disorder in geriatric patients. With oropharyngeal dysphagia, the patient's social isolation and the risk of depression increase, while the quality of life deteriorates. Materials and Methods: In this study, oropharyngeal dysphagia was suspected based on the EAT-10 questionnaire and diagnosed with the water drink test and endoscopic swallowing evaluation, which assesses the aspiration risk by using an eight-point Penetration-Aspiration scale. Patients with oropharyngeal dysphagia received complex treatment: exercises to strengthen the swallowing muscles, electrostimulation of the swallowing muscles, and a modified diet. The quality of life of 64 patients was assessed by using the DHI, SWAL-QoL, and EAT-10 questionnaires before complex treatment and after treatment. The results show that the quality of life improved after the complex treatment of oropharyngeal dysphagia. Results: The mean age of patients was 77.8 (9.1) years, and 56.3% of patients were women. At baseline, mild oropharyngeal dysphagia was found in 18.8% of patients; moderate-in 51.6%; and severe-in 29.7%. Aspiration risk was low in 28.1% of patients; medium-in 39.1%; and high-in 32.8%. The severity of oropharyngeal dysphagia and aspiration risk significantly decreased after treatment (p = 0.002). The EAT-10 score mean was 15.23 (8.92) points before treatment and decreased to 11.50 (6.12) points after treatment (p < 0.001). Before treatment, the DHI physical score was 15.75 (6.813), the DHI functional score was 14.56 (8.659), and the DHI emotional score was 11.06 (7.848) (p < 0.001), and after complex treatment, the DHI physical score was 14.56 (8.659), the DHI functional score was 9.74 (7.165), and the DHI emotional score was 7.94 (6.588) (p < 0.001). The total SWAL-QoL score mean was 132.71 (34.392) points before treatment and increased to 152.42 (30.547) points after treatment (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Complex treatment of oropharyngeal dysphagia plays an important role in improving the quality of life and reducing aspiration risk in older people affected by this condition.

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