Purpose: This study investigated the factors that influence the prognosis of swallowing function rehabilitation therapy in patients with dysphagia after medullary infarction.
Patients and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted using the clinical data of 51 patients who were diagnosed with dysphagia after medullary infarction and hospitalized at our institution between January 2019 and January 2021. As per the water swallow test (WST) grade at 1 month after rehabilitation treatment, patients were classified into the good prognosis group and the poor prognosis group. Univariate analysis as well as univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to analyze factors that influence the prognosis of swallowing function rehabilitation therapy in patients with dysphagia after medullary infarction. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were then used to test the predictive ability of the significant parameters to predict the prognosis of the rehabilitation therapy in these patients.
Results: Univariate analysis and univariate logistic regression analysis showed that previous stroke (odds ratio [OR] = 1.361), dysarthria (OR = 3.771), disease course (OR = 1.112), National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at admission (OR = 2.596), and infarct site (OR = 11.071) were all significantly correlated with the prognosis of swallowing function rehabilitation therapy in patients with dysphagia after medullary infarction (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that dysarthria (OR = 5.519, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.413– 21.566), infarct site (OR = 18.634, 95% CI 1.696– 204.73), and the NIHSS score (OR = 1.001, 95% CI 1.536– 4.820) were independent influencing factors of the prognosis of swallowing function rehabilitation therapy in these patients. The ROC curve showed that the area under the curve for the combined prediction of the three indicators was 0.943.
Conclusion: The NIHSS score, dysarthria, and infarct site are independent influencing factors for the prognosis of swallowing function rehabilitation therapy in patients with dysphagia after medullary infarction.
Keywords: medullary infarction, dysphagia, rehabilitation, prognosis, influencing factors