Prevalence and recovery of aspiration poststroke: a retrospective analysis

This retrospective study was undertaken to review aspiration documented by videofluoroscopic modified barium swallow (VMBS) examination in a group of patients admitted to a stroke rehabilitation unit. Forty-two of 54 patients tested demonstrated evidence of aspiration of thin liquids on VMBS performed an average of over 5 weeks following the onset of stroke. However, only patients in whom there was clinical concern of aspiration (54 of 255 stroke patients admitted to the rehab unit) were tested with VMBS evaluation. With this limitation in mind, aspiration was demonstrated in at least 9.9% of all unilateral right hemispheric patients, 12.1% of unilateral left hemispheric, 24% of bilateral hemispheric, and 39.5% of brainstem stroke patients. Of the 42 patients in whom aspiration of thin liquids was demonstrated, 31 underwent repeat VMBS studies an average of 6 weeks after the initial VMBS. 7 of these 31 (22.6%) no longer showed aspiration on VMBS. Eighteen of the 42 patients (43%) clinically stopped aspirating over this 6-week period.