Stroke and Swallowing: Determining Risks

People who’ve experienced strokes may find they have difficulty swallowing (called “dysphagia”). Beyond simply being uncomfortable, this can also cause food or liquids to enter your lungs.

In an effort to find the most reliable test for determining whether a stroke has, in fact, created swallowing problems, researchers compared two methods: “pulse oximetry,” which measures oxygen levels in the blood as an indicator of obstructed swallowing, and videofluoroscopy, a process that uses a video-based assessment within 24 hours of the stroke event.

Their conclusion? Researchers found no relationship between low oxygen levels in the blood and swallowing problems, so videofluoroscopy remained the most effective assessment choice of the two. However, the study’s authors pointed out that because only 54 of the 189 participants were able to undergo the video tests, further study is warranted.

For further information:  “Can Pulse Oximetry or a Bedside Swallowing Assessment Be Used to Detect Aspiration after Stroke?” D. Ramsey, D.G. Sithard, and L. Kalra, Stroke, December 2006.