Nutritional Considerations in Dysphagia to Prevent Malnutrition

As partners in patient care the speech-language pathologist (SLP) and the registered dietitian (RD) work together to treat patients with dysphagia and should be able to communicate and address the patient's nutrition status in their diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. Avoiding deterioration of nutrition status (malnutrition and dehydration) through early intervention and treatment is key to decreasing the associated costs and declines in quality of life. Gaining an understanding of the social and physiologic factors that impact oral intake and nutritional status throughout the lifespan assists the SLP to better collaborate with the RD to develop a patient-centered care plan to improve the quality of care and facilitate positive patient outcomes in this population.