Toshiyuki Ikegami, Mika Kobayashi, Shuji Matsumoto
Department of Rehabilitation, Kikuno Hospital, 897-0215 3815 Kawanabe-cho, Minamikyuusyuu City, Kagoshima, Japan.
DOI: 10.2340/20030711-1000078

Objective: To investigate the factors predicting oral feeding ability following acute stroke.
Methods: This retrospective study compared patients admitted to a stroke care unit in 2 groups: an oral intake group and a tube feeding group. The groups were evaluated for 28 items and initial blood investigation tests, and the results compared. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify the clinical variables significantly associated with oral feeding ability.
Results: A total of 255 stroke patients (162 in the oral intake group and 93 in the tube feeding group) were admitted to the stroke care unit. Significant differences were observed between the 2 groups for 20 items. Logistic analysis found that the following variables were significant in the prediction model: age, date of initiation of oral feeding, stroke recurrence/patient deterioration during hospitalization, and date of initiation of occupational therapy.
Conclusion: Factors associated with achieving oral intake among stroke care unit patients were: young age at time of admission; starting oral intake early; no stroke recurrence/patient deterioration during hospitalization; and achieving rehabilitation of daily activities early during the physical function recovery stage.

A stroke care unit is a hospital ward specializing in acute-stage stroke. Length of stay in the SCU is short. While some SCU patients achieve oral feeding ability by the time of hospital discharge or transfer to another hospital, others do not. In the acute phase of stroke, swallowing status must be confirmed early in order to enable optimum nutritional management. Therefore, this study investigated and clarified factors predicting oral intake ability/incapacity in stroke patients admitted to the SCU. Stroke patients were divided into 2 groups: those who were able to achieve nutrition by oral intake only and those who could not achieve oral intake. Information was obtained from electronic medical records, and several items and data from the initial blood test were compared, and significant differences were found. Of the 255 patients included in the study, 162 had achieved nutrition by oral intake. This study found 4 factors associated with achieving oral intake in SCU patients. It was suggested that if the age of onset of stroke is young, the nutritional status at the time of onset is good, the condition does not worsen during hospitalization, and rehabilitation for daily living can be started early, oral intake may be possible before hospital discharge.