Clinical application of intermittent oral gastrogavage in aged patients with dysphagia

Objective To explore the clinical effects of intermittent oral gastrogavage in aged patients with dysphagia. Methods Totally 66 aged patients with dysphagia hospitalized in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital between May 2016 and February 2018 were selected using convenient sampling and divided into the treatment group and the control group according to the random number table. Patients in the control group received nasogastric tube feeding, while patients in the treatment group received intermittent oral gastrogavage. The degree of aspiration, the effects on deglutition function and nutrition were compared between the two groups. Finally, totally 60 patients in the treatment group (n=30) and the control group (n=30) completed the study. Results After 3 months, patients in the treatment group showed Class Ⅰ-Ⅱ aspiration, while 3 patients in the control group were found with Class Ⅲ or Ⅳ aspiration (Z=-3.227, P<0.05) . The rehabilitation efficiency of deglutition function of the treatment group was higher than that of the control group (Z=-3.158, P<0.05) . The serum albumin and the pro-protein of the treatment group was (47.17±3.28) g/L and (0.32±0.08) g/L respectively, both higher than those of the control group (t=-10.500, 3.677; P<0.05) . Conclusions Intermittent oral gastrogavage can enhance the patients' deglutition function, reduce their aspiration levels and improve their nutritional status, which is worth promoting in clinical practice. Key words: Dysphagia; Aged; Intermittent oral gastrogavage; Nasogastric tube feeding