Efficacy of interferential currents stimulation on post-stroke dysphagia: A case control study

Background: The dysphagia screening in acute ischemic stroke plays an important role in patients with risk of dysphagia. The aim of this hospital-based case-control study is to explore if V-VST, as a new nurse-driven dysphagia screening tool for AIS patients, might help to reduce the rate of post-stroke pneumonia and early withdraw of feeding tube. Methods: 1598 acute ischemic stroke patients were enrolled in this study. The standard protocol in AIS patients were assessed by WST (before intervention and plus with V-VST after intervention). The V-VST assessment were be trained in two senior nurses and all AIS patients were assessed by V-VST during July 1and Dec 30 th , 2017. Among 299 AIS patients with suspected, all clinical data were analyzed. The comparison of their rate of pneumonia in hospital and withdraw rate of tubefeeding before discharge were performed between patients post-intervention (January 1, 2018-June 30, 2019)and those admitted before the intervention (January 1, 2016-June 30, 2017). Results: The baseline characteristics of the pre- and post- intervention AIS groups were similar in age, gender, NIHSS. The implementation of V-VST have a statistically significant reducing the risk of pneumonia with an adjusted HR (0.60, 95% CI 0.43-0.84, P=0.003). Additionally, follow-up V-VST were likely to be associated the withdraw rate of tube-feeding at discharge (29/168 vs 38/131 P=0.016).There is also a trend of length of tube-feeding decreasing (8.32±12.27 vs 6.84±8.61 P=0.241). Conclusion: In our study, the V-VST is a feasible bedside tool. The implemental might be associated with the reduction of post-stroke pneumonia. Therefore, it meets the requirements of a clinical screening test for dysphagia in acute stroke patients at bedside. Large prospective interventional study is needed to confirm our findings. V-VST: Volume-viscosity Swallow Test WST: Water Swallow Test AIS: Acute Ischemic Stroke HR: hazard ratio

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Disruptions of Anaerobic Gut Bacteria Are Associated with Stroke and Post-stroke Infection: a Prospective Case–Control Study

Translational Stroke Research ◽

10.1007/s12975-020-00863-4 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Bastiaan W. Haak ◽

Willeke F. Westendorp ◽

Tjitske S. R. van Engelen ◽

Xanthe Brands ◽

Matthijs C. Brouwer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hospital Admission ◽

Hemorrhagic Stroke ◽

Case Control Study ◽

Case Control ◽

Gut Bacteria ◽

Stroke Patients ◽

Post Stroke ◽

The Impact ◽

Control Study ◽

Prospective Case Control Study

Abstract In recent years, preclinical studies have illustrated the potential role of intestinal bacterial composition in the risk of stroke and post-stroke infections. The results of these studies suggest that bacteria capable of producing volatile metabolites, including trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) and butyrate, play opposing, yet important roles in the cascade of events leading to stroke. However, no large-scale studies have been undertaken to determine the abundance of these bacterial communities in stroke patients and to assess the impact of disrupted compositions of the intestinal microbiota on patient outcomes. In this prospective case–control study, rectal swabs from 349 ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke patients (median age, 71 years; IQR: 67–75) were collected within 24 h of hospital admission. Samples were subjected to 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing and subsequently compared with samples obtained from 51 outpatient age- and sex-matched controls (median age, 72 years; IQR, 62–80) with similar cardiovascular risk profiles but without active signs of stroke. Plasma protein biomarkers were analyzed using a combination of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Alpha and beta diversity analyses revealed higher disruption of intestinal communities during ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke compared with non-stroke matched control subjects. Additionally, we observed an enrichment of bacteria implicated in TMAO production and a loss of butyrate-producing bacteria. Stroke patients displayed two-fold lower plasma levels of TMAO than controls (median 1.97 vs 4.03 μM, Wilcoxon p < 0.0001). Finally, lower abundance of butyrate-producing bacteria within 24 h of hospital admission was an independent predictor of enhanced risk of post-stroke infection (odds ratio 0.77, p = 0.005), but not of mortality or functional patient outcome. In conclusion, aberrations in trimethylamine- and butyrate-producing gut bacteria are associated with stroke and stroke-associated infections.

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