Influencia del ictus en el estado nutricional y su relación con la disfagia

Abstract

Aim

To study the relationship between malnutrition and dysphagia in stroke patients.

Method

An observational, descriptive, longitudinal and prospective study that included 183 patients admitted to the neurological department of the University Hospital of Burgos with a diagnosis of stroke. Sociodemographic and clinical variables were collected using body mass index (BMI), CONUT index, Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), Barthel's index, Rankin scale, volume-viscosity clinical examination method, on admission, on discharge, and at 3 months.

Results

On admission to hospital, 64.3% (92) of the patients had some degree of malnutrition according to the CONUT index, and 13.4% (22) were at risk of malnutrition according to the MNA. The median (interquartile range) of dependency was 100 (90;100). The median disability was 1 (0;2). Forty point four percent (67) of the patients had dysphagia.

At 3 months, using the abovementioned scales, 58.2% of the patients had some degree of malnutrition, and 17.1% (28) were at risk of malnutrition. The median dependency was 95 (80;100). The median disability was 1 (1;3). Twelve percent (20) had dysphagia. There was a statistically significant relationship between dysphagia and level of malnutrition according to the CONUT index on admission (P = .021) and at 3 months (P = .045), and according to the MNA at 3 months (P = .009).

Conclusion

In stroke patients, there is an association between dysphagia and malnutrition, both on admission to hospital and at three months. After initial worsening, an improvement was observed at 3 months with regard to the degree of dependency and disability but pre-stroke levels were not achieved.