Kazuya Ikenishi
Background: Recent years have witnessed an upsurge in the interest in the correlation between nutritional condition and rehabilitation of stroke patients. Dysphagia is one of the neurological manifestations, which markedly affects the nutrient intake of stroke patients. However, previous studies did not consider dysphagia as a variable. If the presence of dysphagia correlated with the serum albumin level and activities of daily living (ADL) of stroke patients, these studies could have contributed to enhancing nursing care for rehabilitation stroke patients. This study aims to investigate the correlation between dysphagia with the serum albumin level and the functional independence measure (FIM) of stroke rehabilitation patients.
Methods: In this retrospective study, we reviewed medical records in a rehabilitation hospital located in the Kanto area of Japan, from November 1, 2018 to January 31, 2019. From medical records, we collected data about age and sex, type of stroke, location of the stroke, serum albumin level, and the presence or absence of dysphagia. Using the univariate analysis, we evaluated the correlation between dysphagia and two variables-serum albumin level and FIM score.
Results: The study cohort comprised 22 stroke patients (presence of dysphagia (dysphagia group), 16; and absence of dysphagia (no dysphagia group), 6). Regarding the serum albumin level, no significant was noted between groups. However, the dysphagia group’s FIM score and variation were markedly higher than the no dysphagia group.
Conclusions: Regarding stroke patients in a recovery phase rehabilitation ward, comparison of patients with dysphagia and no dysphagia reveals the following: FIM scores are markedly higher; serum albumin levels are not markedly different groups; and dysphagia stroke patients’ average serum albumin level declines after 1 month.
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