Evaluation of Swallowing Coordination in Infants with a History of Mechanical Ventilation Longer Than 7 Days in the Neonatal Period and Assessment of Response to Oral Stimulation Maneuver

Dysphagia is a frequent complication defined as difficulty in any stage of swallowing. Infants with a history of mechanical ventilation might show difficulty in coordinating pharyngeal muscles resulting in dysphagia.

The present study aimed to show the prevalence of swallowing disorders and associated symptoms among high-risk infants with a history of prolonged mechanical ventilation.

A quasi-experimental study was conducted at the Breastfeeding Research Center, Tehran, Iran. All the neonates with a history of prolonged mechanical ventilation entered the study. Parents were asked to respond to a provided questionnaire regarding their infants’ swallowing disorders. Accordingly, the infants with any symptoms were considered candidates for intervention. The parents also received simple training to perform oral sensorimotor stimulation protocol for their children. Through a follow-up visit, the questionnaire was filled up for every infant. Finally, all the data related to the responses before and after interventions were compared to show the possible effects of the interventions.

A total of 25 infants entered the study. The mean mechanical ventilation period was 15.95 ± 6.644 days. Concerning the frequency of swallowing complications, 24 infants (96%) had different degrees of dysphagia. After 3 - 6 months of interventions, the number of cases with symptoms of coughing (P = 0.016), spitting food out by mouth (P = 0.0001), choking (P = 0.016), humid breath (P = 0.031), poor weight gain (P = 0.002), and the need to cut food into small pieces (P = 0.004) was significantly lower than the number of cases suffering from such complications before the intervention. The results also showed that after 3 - 6 months of interventions, dysphagia symptoms in 10 out of 24 infants (41.66%) entirely and in others (38.44%) partially improved.

The results of the present study delineated that infants with a history of prolonged mechanical ventilation were at greater risk of swallowing complications. The early diagnosis and implementation of oral sensorimotor interventions could improve different symptoms of dysphagia.