Investigating the Prevalence of Dysphagia and Dysphonia in Patients with COVID-19 in the Intensive Care Unit

Introduction: The world has been suffering from COVID-19 since 2020 and the disease continues up to now. COVID-19 patients are at high risk of dysphagia and dysphonia. Accordingly, this study aims to determine the prevalence of dysphonia and dysphagia and identify correlated factors to develop dysphagia and dysphonia in COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU). Materials and Methods: A total of 70 patients with COVID-19 (Mean±SD age of 63.1±18.6; males=39) hospitalized in ICUs were evaluated by an expert on speech and language. The patients were evaluated for swallowing disorder via the Mann assessment of swallowing ability and the Persian version of the functional oral intake scale. The consensus auditoryperceptual evaluation of voice was also used to evaluate voice disorders. Results: Overall, 58.6% of patients presented dysphagia and 74.3% of patients had dysphonia. Meanwhile, 34.3% of the patients were on mechanical ventilation. A correlation was detected between dysphagia severity and the number of mechanical ventilation days, the length of stay, and age (P<0.05). Dyspnea impacts the prevalence of dysphonia and dysphagia in COVID-19 patients (P<0.05). Vomiting has been effective on only the prevalence of dysphagia (P<0.05). Furthermore, a significant correlation was found between dysphagia and dysphonia (P<0.01). Conclusion: A high prevalence rate of dysphagia and dysphonia exists in patients with COVID-19 admitted to ICUs. An early evaluation by a speech and language pathologist is essential to identify the suspected patients and provide early intervention to prevent further complications and improve their quality of life.