Oropharyngeal Dysphagia in Patients With Community Acquired Pneumonia

Oropharyngeal Dysphagia in Patients With Community Acquired Pneumonia

This study investigates relationship between community acquired pneumonia and oropharyngeal dysphagia in patients admitted to a department of respiratory medicine in Northern Denmark.

The endpoints will be re-hospitalisation and mortality.

Community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in elderly patients. Risk factors are many including oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD). Systematic screening of OD is recommended for at-risk popolations, however these resommandations do not specifically address elderly patients hospitalized with CAP.

In this study OD is assessed in all patients by Volume-Viscosity Swallowing Test (V-VST) The study is registered by the Danish Data Protection Authority (2008-58-0028)

Inclusion Criteria:

• Temperature > 38 degrees Celcius
• New infiltrate on chest x-ray
• Increased C-reactive protein (CRP)
• Either cough, dyspnea, pleuritic chest pain, expectoration, or tachypnea

Exclusion Criteria:

• patients referred from the intensive care unit
• reduced cognitive awareness if not able to able to cooperate with the assessment of oropharyngeal dysphagia