Prevalence of Dysphagia in Hospitalized Patients of Educational Hospitals of Ahvaz city in Second Half 2010

Dysphagia refers to any disturbance in movement of food bolus from mouth to stomach that is due to neurological motor disorder of swallowing processes. Depending on many factors, prevalence of dysphagia is reported differently. Since, a speech and language pathologist is an active member of the medical team assessing and treating patients with dysphagia, having basic information about prevalence and etiology of dysphagia seems necessary for short and long-term planning of rehabilitation programs. Subjects & In this retrospective descriptive-analytic study, 1860 medical profiles of Hospitalized Patients of Educational Hospitals of Ahvaz-city were randomly selected. By use of NDPCS checklist, data regarding existence and nonexistence of dysphagia, etiology of dysphagia, prevalence of dysphagia in different ages and sexes, accompanying speech disorders, and prevalence of dysphagia in different wards of the studied hospitals were recorded and entered into SPSS software for analysis. Among 1860 viewed medical profiles, 4.2% of patients had dysphagia (4% male, 4.5% female). No significant difference was observed between male and female regarding prevalence of dysphagia (p>0.05). Neurologic diseases were the most frequent causes of dysphagia. Regarding prevalence of dysphagia in different ages, males having between 0–10 years of age had the highest dysphagia rate respectively. The highest and lowest dysphagia rate was observed in Neurology ward and Internal Medicine ward of the studied hospitals. Speech therapists are suggested to pay more attention to age, common etiology (infections), and hospital wards with higher dysphagia rate and it is suggested to use early interventions for dysphagia.