Hard to swallow: management of dysphagia in nursing home residents.

摘要

Difficulties with swallowing are common in the nursing home population. Almost any condition that produces general muscle weakness or any condition that is associated with neurological impairment of the swallowing mechanism can produce a swallowing disorder. Difficulty with swallowing (dysphagia) is most often a symptom of an underlying condition, rather than a primary disorder.There are 2 major consequences of dysphagia. First, the inability to coordinate the complex, sequential swallowing mechanism slows eating, results in leaving food in the mouth, and may result in failure to ingest adequate nutrients and fluids.