Nurse-Administered Swallow Screens for Patients after Acute Stroke

What is it about?

Nursing-driven swallow screens are a critical component of post-stroke dysphagia evaluations to prevent aspiration and pneumonia. There are multiple screening protocols but no consensus tool. This study aimed to characterize variations in nurse-administered swallow screening documentation for post-stroke patients by examining templates in the electronic health record (EHR) and comparing them to established protocols.

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Why is it important?

Review of nurse-administered swallow screening documentation templates for patients after acute stroke highlights substantial variability despite widespread use of water-based trials. Most templates did not align with an established protocol. These findings suggest an opportunity to standardize documentation across hospital systems to support consistent practice and reduce adverse outcomes related to dysphagia after stroke.