Effect of swallowing therapy to avoid aspiration in patients with post-stroke dysphagia at the stroke unit of Harjono hospital, Indonesia

Abstract

Background: Aspiration is common complication of dysphagia stroke due to cranial nerve damage, especially cranial nerves V, VII, IX, X and XII. Existing therapies to prevent aspiration is the compensation strategy therapy and semisolid nutritional therapy, but each of these therapies is still have a weakness, so it needs a new therapeutic method namely swallowing therapy which combine the advantages and reduce the weaknesses of each of the therapy. Aim of the study is to determine the effect of swallowing therapy on aspiration prevention in patients with dysphagia stroke.Methods: This research was a quasi-experimental research involving 16 respondents in the intervention group and 16 respondents in the control group who obtained through consecutive sampling techniques. Data was collected from February-March 2016 at the Stroke Unit RSUD Dr. Harjono Ponorogo through observations using Gugging Swallowing Screen (GUSS) instruments. Data analysis used in this research was wilcoxon test to determine the difference of swallowing therapy effect before and after intervention. Mann-Whitney test was also used to determine the difference of swallowing therapy effect between intervention group and control group after intervention.Results: There was a differences of swallowing therapy effect between pre-test and post-test in the intervention group (p = 0.002). In addition, there was no differences between pre-test and post-test in the control group (p = 0.157).Conclusions: Swallowing therapy have a positive effect against aspiration prevention in patients with dysphagia stroke, so it can be recommended as an acute care intervention in stroke patients at stroke unit.