Study Indicates Dysphagia Increases Risk, Complications and Hospital Stays for Hospitalized Patients
August 16, 2010
Nationwide, hospitalized patients with dysphagia average a 40 percent longer stay than those without swallowing difficulties, reported researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in the August issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology—Head & Neck Surgery, a JAMA/Archives journal.
From 2005 to 2006, the authors found that 271,983 hospital admissions out of more than 77 million, were associated with dysphagia, according to a Mount Sinai press release. The researchers, Kenneth W. Altman, M.D., Ph.D., and his Mount Sinai colleagues, determined that the median hospital stay for patients with dysphagia was 4.04, compared to 2.4 days for inpatients without the condition. Mortality also increased significantly among patients with dysphagia, with patients undergoing rehabilitation affected by a 13-fold increased risk of dying. In addition, patients who were 75-years-old and older were twice as likely to have dysphagia.
“Our study shows that dysphagia has a significant impact on length of stay and prognostic indicators,” said Altman, who is an associate professor of otolaryngology at the medical school and lead author of the study. “Early identification of dysphagia and therapeutic intervention are critical to preventing further complications in these patients and reducing length of stay. These data indicate the necessity for health care providers to prevent or diagnose this condition early to reduce complications.”
Hospital resources are also heavily taxed by this condition. Patients with dysphagia more often need aspiration, along with antibiotics and intubation. The researchers estimated the overall cost of dysphagia was almost $550 million over the period they studied.
“With our country moving into a value-based health care system, we will truly feel the impact of the costs associated with dysphagia. As such, it’s important to develop strategies to prevent and treat this debilitating condition to reduce these costs,” Altman concluded.
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