AUTHOR=Zhang Yao-Wen , Dou Zu-Lin , Zhao Fei , Xie Chun-Qing , Shi Jing , Yang Chen , Wan Gui-Fang , Wen Hong-Mei , Chen Pei-Rong , Tang Zhi-Ming 

TITLE=Neuromuscular electrical stimulation improves swallowing initiation in patients with post-stroke dysphagia

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroscience

VOLUME=16

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2022.1011824

DOI=10.3389/fnins.2022.1011824

ISSN=1662-453X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Objective</title><p>More than half of post-stroke patients develop dysphagia, which manifests as delayed swallowing and is associated with a high risk of aspiration. In this study, we aimed to investigate the immediate effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on swallowing initiation in post-stroke patients using videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) data.</p></sec><sec><title>Materials and methods</title><p>This randomized, self-controlled crossover study included 35 patients with post-stroke dysphagia. All selected patients received real and sham NMES while swallowing 5 ml of thin liquid. Participants completed the conditions in random order, with a 10-min interval between conditions. The primary evaluation indicators included the Modified Barium Swallow Impairment Profile-6 (MBSImp-6) and Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS). Secondary indicators included oral transit time (OTT), pharyngeal transit time (PTT), and laryngeal closure duration (LCD).</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Modified Barium Swallow Impairment Profile-6 (<italic>P</italic> = 0.008) and PAS (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.001) scores were significantly lower in the Real-NMES condition than in the Sham-NMES condition. OTT (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.001) was also significantly shorter during Real-NMES than during Sham-NMES. However, LCD (<italic>P</italic> = 0.225) and PTT (<italic>P</italic> = 0.161) did not significantly differ between the two conditions.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>Neuromuscular electrical stimulation may represent a supplementary approach for promoting early feeding training in patients with post-stroke dysphagia.</p></sec><sec><title>Clinical trial registration</title><p>[<ext-link ext-link-type="uri" xlink:href="https://clinicaltrials.gov/" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">https://clinicaltrials.gov/</ext-link>], identifier [ChiCTR2100052464].</p></sec>