Dysphagia arose as a serious concern for many people affected by Covid-19, especially those who required intubation. The authors of this paper used data from an institutional database of 3660 patients (Jan 2020 – March 2022) who presented with moderate to severe Covid-19, requiring oxygen supplementation. In this paper, they report: 1) the number of patients referred with dysphagia; 2) the number assessed with modified barium swallow (MBS); and 3) the most common abnormal characteristics seen on MBS as rated using the Modified Barium Swallow Impairment Profile (MBSImP). A total of 588 patients (16% of cohort) presented with dysphagia and 257 (44%) were evaluated with MBS. Aspiration was identified in 39,% of referrals, with 30% being silent aspiration (score of 8 on penetration-aspiration scale). Several MBS components were shown to be abnormal: poor tongue control (40%), oral residue (60%), initiation of pharyngeal swallow (65%), laryngeal vestibular closure (65%) and pharyngeal residue (56%). The authors highlight that this is the largest cohort of Covid-19 patients evaluating swallowing characteristics using MBS. The characteristics of dysphagia in this Covid-19 cohort were similar to those seen more generally in post-extubation dysphagia and, thus, differentiating the two would require further investigations. This paper offers useful insights on expected changes in Covid-19 patients and suggestions of aspects that may respond to traditional swallow therapy.
Profiling features of dysphagia in people with moderate to severe Covid-19
Reviewed by Roganie Govender
Abnormal Swallowing Characteristics in COVID-19 Patients.
CONTRIBUTOR
Roganie Govender
University College London, Head & Neck Academic Centre, UK.
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