Oral trials in hospital
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring decision-making and the use of oral trials for patients with dysphagia in an acute hospital setting
IRAS ID
277615
Contact name
David Nelson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Lincoln
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
-, -
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 12 days
Research summary
Swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) can affect health in a variety of ways, from malnutrition and dehydration, to life threatening illnesses such as aspiration pneumonia. Safe swallowing is essential both to maintain life and also maintain quality of life (Bath et al, 2018). Speech and language therapy (SLT) can work with dysphagia in a range of ways: by providing strategies or adaptations to support patients to eat and drink safely, or providing rehabilitation to rebuild swallowing skills.
There are a variety of interventions recommended for individuals with dysphagia but there is a lack of evidence to the effectiveness of these. In order to deliver timely and effective patient care with confidence, it is essential to continue to develop the evidence base in order to reliably highlight the appropriate therapy approaches.
The study aims to look at an approach to maximise the practice of swallowing whilst maintaining safe standards and reducing chances of aspiration pneumonia or further complications. Oral trials - offering patients a limited amount of diet or fluids - can be recommended by SLT in order to offer a safe limit to active, practical therapy, based on the principles of neuroplasticity. Although research shows that oral trials are widely used, a literature search has found no research with regards to the efficacy of this approach.
The study would like to explore how SLTs make decision around oral trials, by carrying out focus groups with SLTs in one acute hospital trust. The focus group will explore thoughts, feelings and important considerations with regards to decision-making when offering oral trials in hospital. The research will reflect on the service delivered within one hospital trust and highlight how practitioner experience and environmental factors help to guide management of swallowing difficulties.
REC name
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REC reference
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