PD973 - OROPHARYNGEAL DYSPHAGIA IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH COMMUNITY-ACQUIREDPNEUMONIA

PD973

OROPHARYNGEAL DYSPHAGIA IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH COMMUNITY-ACQUIRED

PNEUMONIA

E. H. AZAÑA FERNANDEZ^1,*, Y. R. Davila Barboza²

¹Geriatrics, Hospital San Juan de Dios, ²Geriatrics, Complejo Asistencial Universitario de Leon, Leon, Spain

Rationale: Oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) is highly prevalent  in elderly patients. OD is associated with nutritional deficits and community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).  This study  assesses the prevalence of dysphagia among inpatient patients with CAP.

Methods: We conducted a observational study on CAP patients  consecutively admitted to a Geriatric Department over 6 months. OD was clinically assessed using the Volume-Viscosity Swallow Test (V-VST).

Results: 82 patients (74,3 % women), mean age 85.2  years. The  specific clinical history detected previous oropharyngeal dysphagia in 20 patients (24,3%). The V-VST detected oropharyngeal dysphagia in 42 patients (51,2%). Of them, 32 patients (76.19%) had mixed swallowing disorder, 4 (9,52 %) had isolated efficacy disorder, and 6 (14,28 %) had isolated safety disorder. Those patients with a positive dysphagia test had a statistically significant higher prevalence of cognitive disorder, higher age, more positive history of previous dysphagia and lower functional status.

Conclusion: OD is a highly prevalent clinical finding in elderly patients with pneumonia. Screening test to detect dysphagia should be performed in these group of patients.

Disclosure of Interest: None declared