Sarouji, Sondos H. H. (2024) The prevalence and characteristics of dysphagia among adults in the speech pathology clinic at Hospital Universit Sains Malaysia. Masters thesis, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
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Abstract
Dysphagia, a swallowing disorder causing oral, pharyngeal, and oesophageal difficulties, is a common symptom of underlying diseases like stroke, cancer, and neurologic and digestive diseases that require treatment. It is increasing annually; more research is needed in Malaysia to explore the prevalence, characteristics, risk factors, and management strategies of dysphagia. The Speech Pathology Clinic at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (Hospital USM) provides specialized services for dysphagic patients. This study aims to determine the prevalence and characteristics of dysphagia among adult patients attending the Speech Pathology Clinic at Hospital USM. Medical records of 125 patients aged ≥18 referred to the Speech Pathology Clinic at Hospital USM for swallowing assessment and clinically diagnosed with dysphagia between 2018 and 2023 were analyzed retrospectively. Through a consecutive screening process, 125 patient files were included in the study from an initial 193 files, with 68 files excluded: 35 as repeat files and 33 for not meeting the inclusion criteria. Data was collected using a data collection form focusing on socio-demographic variables, diagnosis methods, feeding types, and characteristics and types of dysphagia. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine the association between the type of dysphagia and socio-demographic characteristics. The total number of adult patients attending the Speech Pathology Clinic at Hospital USM was 3,486, of which 193 were diagnosed with dysphagia. The prevalence of dysphagia among adult patients was 5.5%. Most patients were Malay and aged 61 years or older, with a slightly higher percentage of males. The most common medical histories among dysphagic patients were digestive and gastrointestinal diseases, followed by stroke, neurological diseases, and cancer. Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) was the most commonly used assessment method (61.6%). Oropharyngeal dysphagia had the highest prevalence rate at 71%, followed by esophageal dysphagia at 51%. Among the patients, coughing while swallowing was the most common issue for 56%, along with weight loss, limited tongue mobility, and aspiration. The most commonly used feeding methods included oral feeding with diet modification and nasogastric tube feeding. Logistic regression analysis found that the age group ≥61 years old (OR = 6.016, 95% CI: 2.189, 16.531, p = 0.001) and referral sources (OR = 0.111, 95% CI: 0.029, 0.419, p = 0.001) were significant predictors of the types of dysphagia. In conclusion, dysphagia is prevalent and significant health issue among adults, especially older with various medical histories. Emphasis on management strategies and ongoing Malaysian research is needed.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Dysphagia |
| Subjects: | R Medicine R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA440-440.87 Study and teaching. Research |
| Divisions: | Kampus Kesihatan (Health Campus) > Pusat Pengajian Sains Kesihatan (School of Health Sciences) > Thesis |
| Depositing User: | Mr Abdul Hadi Mohammad |
| Date Deposited: | 26 Feb 2025 03:02 |
| Last Modified: | 19 Mar 2025 07:28 |
| URI: | http://eprints.usm.my/id/eprint/61913 |
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