Assigned randomly before the treatment, all patients were provided with comprehensive rehabilitation therapy as follows:

Basic treatment, including corresponding control of risk factors and education on healthy lifestyles.

Swallowing training, including lemon ice stimulation, mendelson maneuver, empty swallowing training, and pronunciation training.

Pulmonary function training, including standing training, cough training, and diaphragm muscle training.

The observation group was given enteral nutritional support with Intermittent Oro-esophageal Tube according to the following procedure. The feeding content was formulated by the nutritionists based on the condition and relevant guidelines to reach the energy demand as 20-25 kcal/kg/day and protein supplementation of 1.2-2.0 g/kg/day for both two groups

Assigned randomly before the treatment, all patients were provided with comprehensive rehabilitation therapy as follows:

Basic treatment, including corresponding control of risk factors and education on healthy lifestyles.

Swallowing training, including lemon ice stimulation, mendelson maneuver, empty swallowing training, and pronunciation training.

Pulmonary function training, including standing training, cough training, and diaphragm muscle training.

Besides, the control group was given enteral nutritional support with Nasogastric Tube according to the relevant guidelines. Within 4 hours after admission, the placement of the feeding tube was conducted by professional medical staffs and after intubation, the tube was secured to the cheek with medical tape. The feeding was conducted once every 3-4 hours, with 200-300ml each time. The total feeding volume was determined based on daily requirements.

The observation group was given enteral nutritional support with Intermittent Oro-esophageal Tube according to the following procedure: Before each feeding, inside and outside of the tube was cleaned with water. During feeding, the patient should maintain a semi-reclining or sitting position with mouth opened, and the tube was inserted slowly and smoothly into the upper part of the esophagus by medical staffs while the appropriate depth of intubation was checked with the calibration markings on the tube wall. The distance from the incisors to the head part of the tube should be between 22-25 cm. However, the specific depth should be evaluated based on patients' feedback and adjusted accordingly. After insertion, the tail part of the tube should be put into a container full of water and the absence of continuous bubbles indicated a successful intubation. Then, the feeding was to be conducted three times per day with 50 ml per minute and 400-600ml for each feeding.

The total amount of nutrients consumed by the patient on the day was recorded, excluding fresh water, units: milliliters

The relevant indicators include total protein (TP, g/L) from the blood test within 24h after admission and the last day of treatment, generally, with empty-stomach infants and in the morning.