Summary:
In acute stroke patients with dysphagia, pharyngeal electrical stimulation significantly reduced dysphagia severity compared to sham treatment, though it was associated with no serious adverse effects.
| PICO | Description |
|---|---|
| Population | Seventeen patients with acute ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke presenting with dysphagia (penetration-aspiration scale score 4–8 on videofluoroscopy). |
| Intervention | Pharyngeal electrical stimulation administered 10 minutes daily for 3 consecutive days. |
| Comparison | Sham stimulation (same schedule and procedure without therapeutic stimulus). |
| Outcome | Significant reduction in dysphagia severity by day 83 (difference: –4, p = 0.027), along with improvements in functional oral intake and diet/supervision subscales. No serious adverse events attributable to the intervention were reported. Trial was terminated early due to low recruitment (15 active, 2 sham). |
Source: Harvey, Richard L., et al. “Pharyngeal electrical stimulation to treat dysphagia in acute stroke: learnings from cases in the PhEED clinical trial.” J Rehabil Med. Read article here.
