Knowledge and Practice of Health Professionals in the Management of Dysphagia

• Main Authors: Eduardo Sánchez-Sánchez, Ylenia Avellaneda-López, Esperanza García-Marín, Guillermo Ramírez-Vargas, Jara Díaz-Jimenez, Francisco Javier Ordonez
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
• Series: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Subjects: bronchoaspiration; dysphagia; MECV-V; pneumonia; health professionals
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/4/2139
• ISSN: 1661-7827; 1660-4601

The aim of this study was to determine healthcare providers’ knowledge and practices about dysphagia. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out based on a self-administered and anonymous questionnaire addressed to healthcare providers in Spain. A total of 396 healthcare providers participated in the study. Of these, 62.3% knew the definition of dysphagia as a swallowing disorder. In addition, up to 39.2% of the participants reported that they did not know whether the EatingAssessmentTool (EAT-10) dysphagia screening test was usedin their own clinical settings. Similarly, up to 49.1% of them did not know the ClinicalExaminationVolume-Viscosity (MECV-V) method. Nearly all participants (98.8%) reported that thickeners must be used forall liquids administered to patients. A higher percentage of respondents based the choice of texture on patient’s tolerance (78.2%) rather than on the MECV-V result (17.3%). In addition,76.4% of the professionals had witnessed a bronchoaspiration; after it, 44.4% (<i>n</i> = 175) of them reported the appearance of pneumonia, and 14.5% (<i>n</i> = 57) the death of the patient (<i>p</i> = 0.005). The participants revealeda moderate/low knowledge ofthe definition, diagnosis, and clinical management of liquid dysphagia, which indicates some room for improvements.