Neurológia pre prax 6/2011

Dysphagia screening in neurology: the nurse’s role

Dysphagia is a symptom that accompanies a number of neurological conditions. To diagnose dysphagia, a screening assessment focused on swallowing may be used. The article describes the multidisciplinary approach to swallowing disorders, focusing on the role of nurses in the development and implementation of screening tools in a practice setting. The article provides examples of screening tools, and at the same time, selected pitfalls associated with their development and implementation are discussed.

Keywords: dysphagia, screening tool, sensitivity, specificity, gold standard.