J Korean Dysphagia Soc.  2020 Jan;10(1):72-78. 10.34160/jkds.2020.10.1.009.

Correlation between Dysarthria and Aspiration in Patients with Stroke

• Yu EH
• Moon MH
• Min JH
• Kim HK
• Shin YI
• Ko HY
• Kim SJ
• Ko SH

• KMID: 2506394
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.34160/jkds.2020.10.1.009

Abstract

Objective
This study examined the correlation between dysarthria and aspiration to determine if dysarthria can predict aspiration in stroke patients.
Methods
The medical records of 176 patients with first stroke, who underwent a videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) and Urimal test of articulation and phonology (U-TAP) at the same time between January 2012 and December 2015 in the authors’ hospital, were reviewed retrospectively. The correlation between the penetration aspiration scale (PAS) score and U-TAP score was analyzed in all patients. The mean PAS score and frequency of each PAS score in the dysarthria group and non-dysarthria group were compared. In addition, the aspiration was analyzed based on the severity of dysarthria in the dysphagia group. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software.
Results
The correlation between the PAS score and U-TAP score was not statistically significant in all the subjects. The mean PAS score was 3.46±5.52 and 3.07±5.49 in the dysphagia and non-dysphagia group, respectively. The mean PAS score of the dysphagia group was higher than that of the non-dysphagia group. On the other hand, it was not statistically significant. In addition, there was no significant difference in the frequency of the PAS scores between the two groups. The aspiration was compared with the severity of dysarthria according to the U-TAP score; there was no statistically significant difference.
Conclusion
No correlation was observed between dysarthria and aspiration in stroke patients. In addition, there was no difference in the frequency of aspiration with or without dysarthria. According to the results of this study, aspiration cannot be predicted by dysarthria in stroke patients. Therefore, each diagnostic test and assessment should be performed for each symptom.

Keyword

Aspiration; Deglutition disorders; Dysarthria; Stroke