oropharyngeal dysphagia in acute stroke patients

Background: the objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of different kinds of swallowing disorder and it’s severity in patients after stroke. patients and methods: in this cross sectional study, 91 consecutive stroke patients were screened by the northwestern dysphagia patient check sheet (ndpcs) and the gugging swallowing screen (guss). results: forty seven percent of those assessed demonstrated signs of oropharyngeal dysphagia. mild dysphagia was seen in (10.98%) patients, moderate dysphagia was present in 14.28% and 22% patients had severe dysphagia. conclusions: dysphagia is common after acute stroke and its presence can have serious consequences. these results emphasize the importance of assessment and management of swallowing function in stroke patients.