Traumatic cervical spinal cord injury: recovery of penetration/aspiration and functional feeding outcome

Prospective cohort study.

This prospective cohort study aims to evaluate the recovery of penetration/aspiration and functional feeding outcome in patients with acute TCSCI.

Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland METHODS: Forty-six patients with TCSCI were enrolled. All the patients received speech therapeutic interventions based on their clinical needs and were examined with a videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) at enrollment. The incidence of VFSS-verified laryngeal penetration/aspiration according to Rosenbek's Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS) served as the primary outcome. The secondary outcome was the level of functional oral intake (as per the Functional Oral Intake Scale; FOIS). Based on the PAS results, the patients were divided into two groups: (i) penetrator/aspirators (PAS score ≥3) and (ii) non-penetrator/aspirators (PAS score ≤2). Follow-up VFS studies were primarily conducted on the patients with penetration/aspiration in prior VFS studies. The follow-up VFS studies were scheduled on the basis of clinical demand.

Of the 46 patients, 48% had penetration/aspiration in the first VFSS. The second VFSS was conducted on 20 patients, of whom 6 patients (30%) had penetration/aspiration. The third VFSS was conducted on 9 patients. Of these, only two (22%) patients were still penetrator/aspirators. The majority (n = 37, 88%) of the patients presented a total oral intake without restrictions at the time of the final follow-up. Only one patient (2%) was still tube-dependent with consistent oral intake.

Swallowing physiology in patients with TCSCI improved during the first months after injury, and the number of penetrator/aspirators decreased progressively.