Discussion
dysphagia, pneumonia, critically ill
DYSPHAGIA, CRITICALLY ILL, PNEUMONIA, CAVITY
SOC program has three central functions: keep patients’ lips, tongue, and jaw moving freely; keep patients’ oral cavity moist, clean, and sensitized with thermo, chemical, and mechanical stimuli; and ensure that patients be well-informed on safe-swallowing strategies. Our RCT demonstrates the positive effects of SOC in critically ill patients receiving prolonged endotracheal intubation. Participants who received daily 14.8-min, nurse-administered SOC program for 6.2 days were 2.35-fold more likely to resume oral feeding than were the participants who received only usual care. More importantly, we found that the 30-day incidence of radiographically documented pneumonia was 72% lower in the SOC group than in the controls.Previous research has demonstrated that sensorial stimuli (i.e., tactile, chemical, and thermal stimuli) can increase sensorial input to the swallowing center of the brain stem, thus triggering the swallow response earlier and activating sensorimotor integration processes [Medical guidelines identify SLPs as key members of the critical-care community in the management of dysphagia [