Understanding and Improving Dysphagia After Mechanical Ventilation

The overall goals of this study are to evaluate patients with acute respiratory failure from the time they are orally intubated in the ICU to: 1) investigate tongue weakness and other pathophysiological aspects of dysphagia, and 2) evaluate, in a Phase II clinical trial, a novel, multimodal, sensorimotor intervention conducted during intubation to reduce or prevent dysphagia after extubation. Patients who are expected to be intubated with mechanical ventilation for >96 hours will be consecutively enrolled shortly after intubation. Laryngeal function, tongue strength, swallowing pathophysiology, and breathing-swallowing coordination will be evaluated with valid and reliable standardized measures. While orally intubated, patients in the treatment group will receive a novel, early, sensorimotor intervention for 60-minutes daily, 5 times per week, targeting improved swallowing physiology and kinematics to reduce aspiration and dysphagia. These daily sessions will continue until the completion of a modified barium swallow study conducted within approximately 2 days after extubation, and thereafter standard clinical care will resume. Patients in the control group will receive standard clinical care during intubation and throughout their hospital stay. All patients will be followed to hospital discharge to determine the pathophysiological and clinical impact of the proposed intervention. Knowledge from this study will provide important data for this novel intervention and provide a critical foundation for understanding the physiological mechanisms of dysphagia and aspiration after intubation in patients with acute respiratory failure. With success, this investigation will help shift clinical practice patterns to consider early intervention with the goal of reducing the frequency and severity of swallowing impairment leading to aspiration and additional medical complications.