Clinical Predictors of Dysphagia Recovery After Stroke: A Systematic Review

Oropharyngeal dysphagia is common post-stroke and can have serious consequences for patients. Understanding dysphagia recovery is critically important to inform prognostication and support patients and professionals with care planning. This systematic review was undertaken to identify clinical predictors of dysphagia recovery post-stroke. Online databases (EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane) were searched for studies reporting longitudinal swallowing recovery in adults post-stroke. Dysphagia recovery was defined as improvement measured on a clinical swallowing scale or upgrade in oral and/or enteral feeding status by the end of the follow-up period. The search strategy returned 6598 studies from which 87 studies went through full-text screening, and 19 studies were included that met the eligibility criteria. Age, airway compromise identified on instrumental assessment, dysphagia severity, bilateral lesions, and stroke severity were identified as predictors of persistent dysphagia and negative recovery in multiple logistic regression analysis. The available literature was predominated by retrospective data, and comparison of outcomes was limited by methodological differences across the studies in terms of the choice of assessment, measure of recovery, and period of follow-up. Future prospective research is warranted with increased representation of haemorrhagic strokes and uniform use of standardized scales of swallowing function.