The South African Journal of Communication Disorders · 2 authors, 2 centres
This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.
This prospective cohort study of 68 stroke patients in South Africa's private sector found that co-occurring speech, language, and swallowing conditions were common, and that dysphagia was significantly associated with moderate to severe physical disability and poor functional oral intake. Delayed speech therapy referral was associated with a longer hospital stay.
The study found a high prevalence (88%) of co-occurring conditions. Dysphagia was significantly associated with moderate to severe physical disability (p < 0.01) and dysphagia with aspiration was associated with poor functional oral intake at admission and discharge (p < 0.01). Aspiration pneumonia at discharge was significantly associated with severe physical disability (p < 0.01). A key finding was that participants referred to speech therapy later than 24 hours post-admission had a median hospital stay 3 days longer than those referred within 24 hours (p = 0.042). Implications suggest timely speech therapy referral may reduce hospital stay and that dysphagia management should consider the patient's physical disability level.
