Improving Swallow Ability After Acute Respiratory Failure
After being hospitalized for acute respiratory failure, an 81-year-old woman was admitted to a skilled nursing facility. She was intubated (tube inserted in airway to assist with breathing), had pneumonia caused by aspiration (material entering the lungs), and was experiencing oropharyngeal dysphagia (difficulty eating and swallowing). Although she had a history of dysphagia from a previous spinal surgery, she was able to return to a diet of regular food and thin liquids prior to this hospitalization. To get her back on track, she was referred for speech language pathology (SLP) services.
Therapy Protocol
Speech Therapy
- 5x/week x 4 weeks
Synchrony Dysphagia Solutions by ACP® Portable with OmnisEMG™ Biofeedback
- Effortful swallow and Mendelsohn maneuvers using Kangaroo virtual reality representation of the muscle output to improve strength and coordination
Additional Interventions
- Patient and caregiver education on swallowing exercise and oral care
After undergoing four weeks of speech therapy with Synchrony Dysphagia Solutions by ACP®, the patient had improved her swallow timing and coordination and regained her ability to consume regular food.
I came here not being able to enjoy my food/liquids the way I used to. Through the Synchrony visual feedback and guidance from my SLP, I got the help and confidence I needed to complete my exercises correctly and continue to do them on my own without any help.
Patient
Improve Swallow Function, Coordination, and Quality of Life with Synchrony
By combining surface electromyography (sEMG) and patterned electrical stimulation (PENS), Synchrony Dysphagia Solutions by ACP delivers an innovative approach to dysphagia treatment that helps your patients enjoy a better quality of life.
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After being hospitalized for acute respiratory failure, an 81-year-old woman was admitted to a skilled nursing facility. She was intubated, had pneumonia caused by aspiration, and was experiencing oropharyngeal dysphagia. To help get her back on track, she was referred for speech language pathology (SLP) services. Find out how her care team used Synchrony Dysphagia Solutions by ACP to help her return to a regular diet.
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