A prevalência de disfagia e a evolução de alterações na qualidade da deglutição em pacientes infectados por covid-19

Abstract

NTRODUCTION: The emergence of COVID-19 brought the need to conduct research on the possible consequences on swallowing and on the quality of life related to these disturbances in individuals who were infected by SARS-CoV2. Pulmonary involvement, the need for orotracheal intubation, tracheostomy, the symptoms presented, comorbidities and other factors, brought uncertainty about the interference of these factors in the function of swallowing and in their quality of life. OBJECTIVE: To verify the prevalence and permanence of swallowing disorders, as well as the quality of life related to these disorders, in patients infected with COVID-19 in its different degrees of severity. METHODS: Study conducted at the Hospital das Forças Armadas with patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 infection. 90 individuals participated in this study, being adults and elderly people with a mean age of the population of 59.9 ± 16.09. Among the individuals in the sample, 55 were men (61.1%) and 35 women (38.9%), who had a history of swallowing disorders. In both articles an analysis of medical records and application of the EAT-10 and SWAL-QOL Tests translated into Portuguese to the participants was performed. Article 1 was configured as an observational, analytical, transversal and quantitative study of the collected data. In Article 2, analyzes are being carried out regarding the application of the same tests after 08 months of the first test, and it is configured as an observational, analytical, longitudinal and quantitative study. RESULTS: In article 1, when considering the scores obtained by the EAT-10 questionnaire, the analysis showed statistical significance for the variables senescence and tracheostomy. (p < 0.05). The analysis of the SWAL-QOL test was performed by domains and showed statistical significance between the variable’s senescence, tracheostomy, ageusia and hyporexia. In article 2, when the two evaluation moments were compared, there was a significant decrease in the EAT-10 scores and a significant increase in the SWAL-QOL scores. CONCLUSION: In article 1, the prevalence of risk for dysphagia was higher in the elderly and in tracheostomized individuals who were infected by COVID-19. Changes in the quality of the swallowing process, on the other hand, were more prevalent in the elderly, tracheostomized, with symptoms of ageusia and hyporexia. In article 2, the risk for dysphagia in patients infected with COVID-19 decreased over time. The quality of the swallowing process improved due to the decrease in dysphagia. Symptoms of 9 anosmia, ageusia and hyporexia decreased most of the time, causing an adjustment in the quality of swallowing.