Early Dysphagia Screening to Reduce Pneumonia in Stroke Patients

Early Dysphagia Screening to Reduce Aspiration Pneumonia in Stroke Patients
Student’s Name
Institution
Course Number and Name
Instructor’s Name
Date
Early Dysphagia Screening to Reduce Aspiration Pneumonia in Stroke Patients
Stroke patients may experience stroke-related complications that threaten their health and quality of life. One of the major stroke-related complications is pneumonia. Eltringham et al. (2020) reveal that about 14% of stroke patients develop stroke-related pneumonia. According to Grossmann et al. (2021), stroke-related pneumonia is caused by aspiration resulting from weak swallowing reflexes. In addition, one of the risk factors for stroke-related pneumonia is dysphagia. In fact, Feng et al. (2019) indicate that about 30-65% of stroke patients experience dysphagia and this is associated with longer hospitalization due to aspiration pneumonia and malnutrition, increased risk of morbidity and mortality, and a significant burden on the healthcare system. As such, it is important to identify patients who are at risk of developing stroke-related pneumonia early enough so that effective prevention interventions can be applied. Sivertsen et al. (2017) reveal that if aspiration pneumonia can be detected early, the risk of developing pulmonary complications can be significantly reduced. Also, the risk of death from stroke-related pneumonia can be avoided. Eltringham et al. (2020) recommend that the risk of stroke-related pneumonia can be reduced through improved assessment of swallowing. Healthcare professionals have a responsibility of applying evidence-based interventions to improve the health outcomes of stroke patients, especially by reducing aspiration pneumonia.
Purpose
This project aims to establish the effectiveness of early dysphagia screening in reducing aspiration pneumonia among stroke patients. According to Joundi et al. (2017) and Sivertsen et al. (2017), evidence-based guidelines recommend that all patients with acute stroke should undergo dysphagia screening within the first few hours after hospital admission. Grossmann et al. (2021) also reveal that patients who receive an early dysphagia diagnosis within the first 24 hours of admission were less likely to develop aspiration pneumonia compared to those who did not receive an early dysphagia diagnosis. Yet, in practice, the implementation of early dysphagia screening is not at par with the guidelines recommended (Sivertsen et al., 2017). The purpose of this project is to understand the effectiveness of early dysphagia screening in reducing aspiration pneumonia among stroke patients and to promote the implementation of early dysphagia screening to improve stroke patients’ health outcomes. The focus will be on patients who have been diagnosed with acute stroke and are at risk of developing stroke-associated pneumonia. For this project, stroke-related pneumonia will be defined as a range of pulmonary infections that develop in stroke patients within seven days of a stroke diagnosis (Chen et al., 2021). The results of the study will provide evidence that is significant to nursing practice.
Significance
The nursing profession is responsible for improving the quality of patient care and patient outcomes. According to Bridges et al. (2020), nurses are only able to improve patient care if they draw from evidence that supports the best nursing care practices. This project will facilitate good nursing care practices when it comes to stroke patients by providing evidence on the effectiveness of dysphagia screening in reducing aspiration pneumonia in stroke patients. Although there are guidelines that recommend early dysphagia screening, there exists a gap between practice and recommendation (Sivertsen et al., 2017) and this project will help in closing that gap by providing evidence to support the early dysphagia screening. This might increase adherence to recommendations and as a result, reduce the risk of aspiration pneumonia in stroke patients. The findings of this project can also be incorporated into a quality improvement program for a healthcare institution where dysphagia screening has not yet been implemented.
In addition, this project will also investigate dysphagia as an intervention in aspiration pneumonia. Through this investigation, it might become clear why nurses are not implementing early dysphagia screening despite the recommended ...