Prognostic indicators of functional outcomes in first time documented acute stroke patients following standard dysphagia treatment.

PURPOSE: To explore prognostic factors specific to the speech language pathology scope of practice that may be related to the functional outcome of stroke patients with dysphagia.
METHOD: The prognostic factors analysed for 100 stroke patients with dysphagia included the swallowing portion of the Functional Assessment Measure (SFAM) at discharge as the dependent variable, and age, severity of stroke, cognitive status, length of stay, amount of individual treatment, and the SFAM, Food Texture, and Liquid Consistencies at admission as the independent variables. Correlation analysis, linear regression and descriptive statistics were used to analyse these variables.
RESULTS: Variables that had significant influences on the SFAM discharge levels included the admission ratings of the SFAM, Food Texture, Liquid Consistency, Cognitive FIM levels and length of stay. Amount of individual treatment received was also noted to be significant. Subject age, lesion site and lesion type did not reach significance in correlation or regression analysis.
CONCLUSION: Prognostic factors may play an important role in predicting outcome. This data provides speech-language pathologists with knowledge to more effectively communicate the potential outcome of treatment and recovery to patients and families. Additionally, this study stresses the importance of the initial assessment ratings and suggests the need for inter-rater reliability of assessment measures within rehabilitation facilities.