title: Dysphagia following Stroke.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dysphagia is common after stroke. We aimed to study the prognosis of dysphagia (assessed clinically) over the first 3 months after acute stroke and to determine whether specific neurovascular-anatomical sites were associated with swallowing dysfunction.
  
  
  METHODS
  We prospectively examined consecutive patients with acute first-ever stroke. The assessment of dysphagia was made using standardized clinical methods. The arterial territories involved were determined on CT/MRI. All patients were followed up for 3 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  34.7% of 406 patients had dysphagia. Dysphagia was more frequent in patients with hemorrhagic stroke (31/63 vs. 110/343; p = 0.01). In patients with ischemic stroke, the involvement of the arterial territory of the total middle cerebral artery was more frequently associated with dysphagia (28.2 vs. 2.2%; p < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis revealed that stroke mortality and disability were independently associated with dysphagia (p < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The frequency of dysphagia was relatively high. Regarding anatomical-clinical correlation, the most important factor was the size rather than the location of the lesion. Dysphagia assessed clinically was a significant variable predicting death and disability at 90 days.
authors.affiliation: Stroke Unit, Department of Neuroscience, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy. mpaciaroni@libero.it
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paciaroni
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mazzotta
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Corea
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Caso
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Venti
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Milia
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Silvestrelli
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Palmerini
authors.forename: Lucilla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Parnetti
authors.forename: Virgilio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gallai
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D005471:Fluoroscopy / Q000379:methods; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D013997:Time Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods