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Oropharyngeal dysphagia and related factors in post-cardiac surgery: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

Purpose

To identify the main factors associated with oropharyngeal dysphagia following cardiac surgery through a systematic review of the literature.

Methods

A bibliographic search was conducted in the PubMed and ScienceDirect databases using the following keywords: “cardiac surgery”, “deglutition disorders”, and “dysphagia”.

Selection criteria

Articles published in Portuguese, English, or Spanish addressing oropharyngeal dysphagia following cardiac surgery were selected with no time limitation. Only studies available in full were included.

Data analysis

First, articles were screened for title and abstract. Subsequently, they were submitted to full assessment by two blinded referees. The following data were extracted: authors, year of publication, study design, sample size, variables evaluated, and main results.

Results

The main factors related to oropharyngeal dysphagia in post-cardiac surgery were advanced age, presence of comorbidities and other diseases, intubation time, and surgical conditions.

Conclusion

The studies showed high heterogeneity, demonstrating that individuals who undergo cardiac surgical procedures, especially the elderly, present several factors related to oropharyngeal dysphagia postoperatively, such as cardiopulmonary bypass, transesophageal echocardiography, associated comorbidities, development of postoperative sepsis, and previous heart conditions.

Keywords:
Heart Diseases; Thoracic Surgery; Deglutition Disorders; Risk Groups; Intensive Care Units

RESUMO

Objetivo

Identificar os principais fatores relacionados à disfagia orofaríngea no pós-operatório de cirurgia cardíaca, por meio de uma revisão sistemática de literatura.

Método

Foi realizada pesquisa bibliográfica nas bases PubMed e ScienceDirect, utilizando os termos cardiac surgery, deglutition disorders e dysphagia.

Critérios de seleção

Foram selecionados artigos sem limitação de ano escritos em português, inglês ou espanhol e que referissem disfagia orofaríngea no pós-operatório de cirurgia cardíaca. Apenas os estudos disponíveis na íntegra foram incluídos.

Análise dos dados

Cada artigo passou pela análise de títulos e resumos, sendo posteriormente submetido à avaliação na íntegra por dois juízes cegados. Os seguintes dados foram extraídos: autores/ano, desenho do estudo, amostra, variáveis avaliadas e principais resultados.

Resultados

Os principais fatores relacionados à disfagia orofaríngea no pós-operatório de cirurgia cardíaca foram: idade avançada, presença de comorbidades e outras doenças associadas, tempo de intubação e condições cirúrgicas.

Conclusão

Os estudos foram bastante heterogêneos, demonstrando que sujeitos submetidos a procedimentos cirúrgicos cardíacos, em especial idosos, apresentam diversos fatores relacionados à disfagia orofaríngea no pós-operatório, como o uso de circulação extracorpórea e ecocardiografia transesofágica, comorbidades associadas, desenvolvimento de sepse pós-operatória e condições cardíacas prévias.

Descritores
Cardiopatias; Cirurgia Torácica; Transtornos de Deglutição; Grupos de Risco; Unidades de Terapia Intensiva

INTRODUCTION

Transmissible chronic diseases are the leading causes of disability and mortality worldwide. Cardiovascular conditions, cancer, and diabetes mellitus are among the most important diseases in the field of public health. Among the cardiovascular diseases (CVD), cerebrovascular ischemia and systemic arterial hypertension should be highlighted(11 Rocha LA, Maia TF, Silva LF. Diagnósticos de enfermagem em pacientes submetidos à cirurgia cardíaca. Rev Bras Enferm. 2006;59(3):321-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-71672006000300013. PMid:17175721.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-71672006...
). Epidemiological studies indicate that CVD accounts for one third of all deaths in the world, with myocardial ischemia as the main cause(11 Rocha LA, Maia TF, Silva LF. Diagnósticos de enfermagem em pacientes submetidos à cirurgia cardíaca. Rev Bras Enferm. 2006;59(3):321-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-71672006000300013. PMid:17175721.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-71672006...
,22 OPAS: Organização Pan-Americana da Saúde. CARMEN: iniciativa para a prevenção integrada de doenças não-transmissíveis nas Américas. Brasília: OPAS; 2003.). Also, it is estimated that CVD will be responsible for 25 million deaths in 2020(33 Almeida FF, Barreto SM, Couto BRGM, Starling CEF. Fatores preditores da mortalidade hospitalar e de complicações per-operatórias graves em cirurgia de revascularização do miocárdio. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2003;80(1):41-50. PMid:12612724.).

Heart surgery is among the therapeutic methods commonly employed for the management of cardiac patients. Heart surgeries can be corrective (defects of the ductus arteriosus; atrial or ventricular septum), reconstructive (coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG); aortic, mitral or tricuspid valve plasty), or of replacement (valve transplants and replacements)(11 Rocha LA, Maia TF, Silva LF. Diagnósticos de enfermagem em pacientes submetidos à cirurgia cardíaca. Rev Bras Enferm. 2006;59(3):321-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-71672006000300013. PMid:17175721.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0034-71672006...
). Reconstructive surgeries, particularly CABG, occur most often. In adults and the elderly, the conditions that require cardiac surgery most often are coronary atherosclerosis and valvular diseases(44 Giffhorn H. Avaliação de uma escala de risco em pacientes submetidos à cirurgia de revascularização do miocárdio: análise de 400 casos. Rev Bras Ter Intensiva. 2008;20(1):6-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-507X2008000100002. PMid:25306942.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-507X2008...
,55 Nobre F, Serrano CV Jr. Tratado de Cardiologia SOCESP. Barueri: Manole; 2005.).

Deglutition is a complex activity involving coordinated voluntary and involuntary actions, as well as neuromuscular structures of the oropharyngolaryngeal region and the esophagus, which aims to maintain the nutritional status and protect the airways. Any alteration in this process is identified as dysphagia. Dysphagia is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, and it may cause several clinical complications, such as dehydration, malnutrition, and aspiration pneumonia(66 Etges CL, Scheeren B, Gomes E, Barbosa LR. Instrumentos de rastreio em disfagia: uma revisão sistemática. CoDAS. 2014;26(5):343-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/20142014057. PMid:25388065.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/2317-1782/2014...
,77 Skoretz SA, Flowers HL, Martino R. The incidence of dysphagia following endotracheal intubation: a systematic review. Chest. 2010;137(3):665-73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1378/chest.09-1823. PMid:20202948.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1378/chest.09-1823...
).

Impairment of the swallowing function may be present in various conditions in hospitalized patients, such as in the cases of trauma, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, as well as in patients with cardiopathies(88 Duarte ST. Fatores de risco para disfagia em pacientes submetidos à cirurgia cardíaca [dissertação]. Curitiba: Universidade Tuiuti do Paraná; 2010. 95 p.). In this context, in recent years, research has indicated a possible relationship between cardiac surgery and the development of oropharyngeal dysphagia in the postoperative period due to exposure of patients to various risk factors, such as endotracheal intubation (OTI), cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), among others(88 Duarte ST. Fatores de risco para disfagia em pacientes submetidos à cirurgia cardíaca [dissertação]. Curitiba: Universidade Tuiuti do Paraná; 2010. 95 p.

9 Rousou JA, Tighe DA, Garb JL, Krasner H, Engelman RM, Flack JE 3rd, et al. Risk of dysphagia after transesophageal echocardiography during cardiac operations. Ann Thorac Surg. 2000;69(2):486-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(99)01086-3. PMid:10735685.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(99)...

10 Ferraris VA, Ferraris SP, Moritz DM, Welch S. Oropharyngeal dysphagia after cardiac operation. Ann Thorac Surg. 2001;71(6):1792-5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(01)02640-6. PMid:11426749.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(01)...
-1111 Skoretz SA, Yau TM, Ivanov J, Granton JT, Martino R. Dysphagia and associated risk factors following extubation in cardiovascular surgical patients. Dysphagia. 2014;29(6):647-54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00455-014-9555-4. PMid:25119447.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00455-014-955...
).

A study conducted with 361 patients undergoing CABG showed an incidence of 53.5% of respiratory infection postoperatively(1212 Iglézias JCR, Oliveira JL Jr, Dallan LAO, Lourenção A Jr, Stolf NAG. Preditores de mortalidade hospitalar no paciente idoso portador de doença arterial coronária. Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc. 2001;16(2):94-104. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-76382001000200002.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-76382001...
), indicating the need to evaluate the presence of oropharyngeal dysphagia in this population, especially in individuals at risk for aspiration(1313 Hammond CAS, Goldstein LB. Cough and aspiration of food and liquids due to oral-pharyngeal dysphagia: ACCP evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. Chest. 2006;129(1, Supl 1):S154-68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1378/chest.129.1_suppl.154S. PMid:16428705.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1378/chest.129.1_su...
).

PURPOSE

In this context, the aim of the present study was to identify the main factors associated with oropharyngeal dysphagia following cardiac surgery through a systematic review of the literature.

METHODS

Study design

The guidelines of the Cochrane Handbook(1414 Higgins J, Green S, editors. Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Version 5.1.0 [updated March 2011] [Internet]. The Cochrane Collaboration; 2011 [citado em 2015 Jan 29]. Disponível em: http://www.cochrane-handbook.org
http://www.cochrane-handbook.org...
) and the information provided by Sampaio and Mancini(1515 Sampaio RF, Mancini MC. Estudos de revisão sistemática: um guia para síntese criteriosa da evidência científica. Rev. Bras. Fisioter. 2007;11(1):83-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1413-35552007000100013.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1413-35552007...
) were considered for the realization of this systematic review. The following survey question was used: What are the factors related to oropharyngeal dysphagia in patients following cardiac surgery?

Search strategy

A search was conducted in the PubMed and ScienceDirect databases. The keywords “cardiac surgery” and “deglutition disorders” and the free search term “dysphagia” were used in the search for published works. Association between them was conducted by means of the Boolean operator “AND”. The search occurred between April and May 2015.

Articles published in Portuguese, English, or Spanish addressing oropharyngeal dysphagia following cardiac surgery were selected with no limitation of time. Only studies available in full were selected. The following publications were excluded from the search: expert opinions, dissertations, theses, monographs, reviews, and studies involving other types of thoracic surgery, children, drugs, esophageal dysphagia, and epidemiological data.

Selection of studies

Initially, articles were screened for title and abstract. All articles that met the eligibility criteria of the proposed theme were selected. They were then submitted to full, independent assessment by two blinded referees.

Data analysis

After selection, in case of disagreement, a third referee evaluated the article and provided a final opinion on its inclusion or exclusion. Using a standardized form, each reviewer extracted the following data: authors, year of publication, study design, sample size, variables evaluated, and main results, which compose the descriptive summary presented in Chart 1.

Chart 1
Descriptive summary of studies

RESULTS

Selection of studies

The search found 12,127 articles with the proposed keywords published in the databases consulted (3009 at PubMed and 9118 at ScienceDirect). Of these, 10,324 were excluded for duplicate and 1793 for other reasons. Eventually, 10 studies were read in full by the researchers, but five of them were case reports that addressed only esophageal dysphagia for heart or vascular compression and, consequently, were also excluded. Only five studies addressing oropharyngeal dysphagia following cardiac surgery were left. One master's thesis(88 Duarte ST. Fatores de risco para disfagia em pacientes submetidos à cirurgia cardíaca [dissertação]. Curitiba: Universidade Tuiuti do Paraná; 2010. 95 p.) and one doctoral dissertation(1616 Dantas MOR. Disfagia em cardiopatas idosos: teste combinado de deglutição e monitorização dos sinais vitais [tese]. São Paulo: Universidade de São Paulo; 2008. 95 p.) accomplished in Brazil were found; however, they were not considered in the analysis of results and were used only for the theoretical substantiation of this review.

Figure 1 shows the flowchart of the search strategy and selection of studies.

Figure 1
Flowchart of the articles at the ScienceDirect and PubMed databases

Characterization of studies

Only studies published in English conducted in the United States (60%)(99 Rousou JA, Tighe DA, Garb JL, Krasner H, Engelman RM, Flack JE 3rd, et al. Risk of dysphagia after transesophageal echocardiography during cardiac operations. Ann Thorac Surg. 2000;69(2):486-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(99)01086-3. PMid:10735685.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(99)...
,1010 Ferraris VA, Ferraris SP, Moritz DM, Welch S. Oropharyngeal dysphagia after cardiac operation. Ann Thorac Surg. 2001;71(6):1792-5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(01)02640-6. PMid:11426749.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(01)...
,1717 Hogue CW Jr, Lappas GD, Creswell LL, Ferguson TB Jr, Sample M, Pugh D, et al. Swallowing dysfunction after cardiac operations: associated adverse outcomes and risk factors including intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1995;110(2):517-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5223(95)70249-0. PMid:7637370.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5223(95)...
) and Canada (40%)(1111 Skoretz SA, Yau TM, Ivanov J, Granton JT, Martino R. Dysphagia and associated risk factors following extubation in cardiovascular surgical patients. Dysphagia. 2014;29(6):647-54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00455-014-9555-4. PMid:25119447.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00455-014-955...
,1818 Barker J, Martino R, Reichardt B, Hickey EJ, Ralph-Edwards A. Incidence and impact of dysphagia in patients receiving prolonged endotracheal intubation after cardiac surgery. Can J Surg. 2009;52(2):119-24. PMid:19399206.) were included in this literature review. The study sample ranged from 254(1818 Barker J, Martino R, Reichardt B, Hickey EJ, Ralph-Edwards A. Incidence and impact of dysphagia in patients receiving prolonged endotracheal intubation after cardiac surgery. Can J Surg. 2009;52(2):119-24. PMid:19399206.) to 1042(1010 Ferraris VA, Ferraris SP, Moritz DM, Welch S. Oropharyngeal dysphagia after cardiac operation. Ann Thorac Surg. 2001;71(6):1792-5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(01)02640-6. PMid:11426749.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(01)...
) individuals (mean 781.2). Age varied from 65.4±12.1(1818 Barker J, Martino R, Reichardt B, Hickey EJ, Ralph-Edwards A. Incidence and impact of dysphagia in patients receiving prolonged endotracheal intubation after cardiac surgery. Can J Surg. 2009;52(2):119-24. PMid:19399206.) to 74.3±8.7(1111 Skoretz SA, Yau TM, Ivanov J, Granton JT, Martino R. Dysphagia and associated risk factors following extubation in cardiovascular surgical patients. Dysphagia. 2014;29(6):647-54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00455-014-9555-4. PMid:25119447.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00455-014-955...
) years between the groups of patients with dysphagia and from 62.8±11.8(1010 Ferraris VA, Ferraris SP, Moritz DM, Welch S. Oropharyngeal dysphagia after cardiac operation. Ann Thorac Surg. 2001;71(6):1792-5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(01)02640-6. PMid:11426749.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(01)...
) to 63±0.4(1717 Hogue CW Jr, Lappas GD, Creswell LL, Ferguson TB Jr, Sample M, Pugh D, et al. Swallowing dysfunction after cardiac operations: associated adverse outcomes and risk factors including intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1995;110(2):517-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5223(95)70249-0. PMid:7637370.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5223(95)...
) years between the groups of patients without dysphasia. The study by Rousou et al.(99 Rousou JA, Tighe DA, Garb JL, Krasner H, Engelman RM, Flack JE 3rd, et al. Risk of dysphagia after transesophageal echocardiography during cardiac operations. Ann Thorac Surg. 2000;69(2):486-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(99)01086-3. PMid:10735685.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(99)...
) did not consider age as a factor for the development of dysphagia between the groups of individuals undergoing TEE.

All of the articles selected in the review search were retrospective, cross-sectional studies which included analysis of medical records of patients who underwent cardiac surgery. The most common interventions were valve repair/replacement, coronary bypass, and CABG. Chart 1 shows the descriptive summary of every study listed for the literature review.

According to the studies investigated, the main factors related to oropharyngeal dysphagia following cardiac surgery were advanced age, presence of comorbidities and other diseases, intubation time, and surgical conditions.

The elderly are more likely to develop CVD, thus cardiac surgery rates in this population outnumber those in other age groups(1919 Laizo A, Delgado FEF, Rocha GM. Complicações que aumentam o tempo de permanência na unidade de terapia intensiva na cirurgia cardíaca. Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc. 2010;25(2):166-71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-76382010000200007. PMid:20802907.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-76382010...
). In this population in particular, heart surgery is related to high morbidity and mortality rates because of the high prevalence of associated comorbidities, especially metabolic disorders such as diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia, and the lower functional reserve and depletion of lean body mass(1010 Ferraris VA, Ferraris SP, Moritz DM, Welch S. Oropharyngeal dysphagia after cardiac operation. Ann Thorac Surg. 2001;71(6):1792-5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(01)02640-6. PMid:11426749.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(01)...
,1919 Laizo A, Delgado FEF, Rocha GM. Complicações que aumentam o tempo de permanência na unidade de terapia intensiva na cirurgia cardíaca. Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc. 2010;25(2):166-71. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-76382010000200007. PMid:20802907.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-76382010...

20 Alves L Jr, Rodrigues AJ, Evora PRB, Basseto S, Scorzoni A Fo, Luciano PM, et al. Fatores de risco em septuagenários ou mais idosos submetidos a revascularização do miocárdio e ou operações valvares. Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc. 2008;23(4):550-5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-76382008000400016. PMid:19229429.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-76382008...
-2121 Carrascal Y, Maroto L, Rey J, Arévalo A, Arroyo J, Echevarría JR, et al. Impact of preoperative anemia on cardiac surgery in octogenarians. Interact Cardiovasc Thorac Surg. 2010;10(2):249-55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1510/icvts.2009.220160. PMid:19889715.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1510/icvts.2009.220...
).

In this context, the elderly may present presbiphagia, which occurs owing to the physiological process of aging, which affects the phonoarticulatory neuromuscular structures responsible for the swallowing process(2222 Acosta NB, Cardoso MCAF. Presbifagia: estado da arte da deglutição do idoso. RBCEH. 2012;9(1):143-54.). Presbiphagia associated with other factors, such as comorbidities and the presence of CVD, can negatively affect deglutition, predisposing for oropharyngeal dysphagia(2323 Lima R, Diniz R, Césio A, Vasconcelos F, Gesteira M, Menezes A, et al. Revascularizaçãzo miocárdica em pacientes octogenários: estudo retrospectivo e comparativo entre pacientes operados com e sem circulação extra-corpórea. Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc. 2005;20(1):8-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-76382005000100006.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-76382005...
).

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is the most common cardiac diagnosis in patients over 65 years old and is a common cause of hospitalization and demise, presenting significant financial burden(2424 Linné AB, Liedholm H, Jendteg S, Israelsson B. Health care costs of heart failure: results from a randomized study of patient education. Eur J Heart Fail. 2000;2(3):291-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1388-9842(00)00089-1. PMid:10938491.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S1388-9842(00)...
). Gyalai-Korpos et al.(2525 Gyalai-Korpos I, Ancusa O, Dragomir T, Tomescu MC, Marincu I. Factors associated with prolonged hospitalization, readmission, and death in elderly heart failure patients in western Romania. Clin Interv Aging. 2015;10:561-8. PMid:25792819.) found that elderly people with CHF often present hospitalization time longer than 12 days, according to the New York Heart Association classification (NYHA>4), presence of one or more comorbidities, and associated chronic renal failure, as well as decreased pulmonary condition and physical functional capacity. These changes are associated with increased NYHA functional class, regardless of the values of the left ventricular ejection fraction, reflecting the impact of enhanced disease severity(2626 Di Naso FC, Pereira JS, Beatricci SZ, Bianchi RG, Dias AS, Monteiro MB. A classe da NYHA tem relação com a condição funcional e qualidade de vida na insuficiência cardíaca. Fisioter Pesq. 2011;18(2):157-63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1809-29502011000200010.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1809-29502011...
). Therefore, CHF alone presents a number of factors that may explain the appearance of oropharyngeal dysphagia in the postoperative period of cardiac surgery, as reported by the studies listed in present review.

Another factor reported by the studies was the presence of preoperative cerebrovascular accident (S). Stroke is the leading cause of severe neurological disability and constitutes a public health problem due to its high treatment costs and because it is a major cause of death(2727 Sacco RL. Patogênese, classificação e epidemiologia das doenças vasculares cerebrais. In: Rowland LP. Tratado de neurologia. Rio de Janeiro: Guanabara Koogan; 2007. 255 p.). Approximately 45% to 65% of patients develop oropharyngeal dysphagia, and its presence is associated with increased risk of pulmonary complications owing to aspiration of saliva and/or food, malnutrition, dehydration, prolonged hospitalization, and demise(2828 Marik PE, Kaplan D. Aspiration pneumonia and dysphagia in the elderly. Chest. 2003;124(1):328-36. http://dx.doi.org/10.1378/chest.124.1.328. PMid:12853541.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1378/chest.124.1.32...
,2929 Martino R, Foley N, Bhogal S, Diamant N, Speechley M, Teasell R. Dysphagia after stroke: incidence, diagnostic and pulmonary complications. Stroke. 2005;36(12):2756-63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.0000190056.76543.eb. PMid:16269630.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.0000190...
).

Dysphagia is common among critically ill patients(3030 Batty S. Communication, swallowing and feeding in the intensive care unit patient. Nurs Crit Care. 2009;14(4):175-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-5153.2009.00332.x. PMid:19531034.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1478-5153.20...
), with asymptomatic or symptomatic aspiration as an important risk factor for the development of acute lung injury, prolonged hospital stays, and increased mortality rates(3131 Mirzakhani H, Williams JN, Mello J, Joseph S, Meyer MJ, Waak K, et al. Muscle weakness predicts pharyngeal dysfunction and symptomatic aspiration in long-term ventilated patients. Anesthesiology. 2013;119(2):389-97. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0b013e31829373fe. PMid:23584384.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/ALN.0b013e3182...
). Swallowing dysfunction in critical illness has been identified as an important area of research because of its negative influence on the clinical prognosis of patients(3232 Moraes DP, Sassi FC, Mangilli LD, Zilberstein B, Andrade CR. Clinical prognostic indicators of dysphagia following prolonged orotracheal intubation in ICU patients. Crit Care. 2013;17(5):R243. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/cc13069. PMid:24138781.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/cc13069...
).

Recently, research has shown a possible correlation between the development of sepsis and oropharyngeal dysphagia among seriously ill patients. The incidence of severe sepsis increases morbidity and mortality rates in this group of patients(3333 Martin GS. Sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock: changes in incidence, pathogens and outcomes. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2012;10(6):701-6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1586/eri.12.50. PMid:22734959.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1586/eri.12.50...
,3434 Winters BD, Eberlein M, Leung J, Needham DM, Pronovost P, Sevransky JE. Long-term mortality and quality of life in sepsis: a systematic review. Crit Care Med. 2010;38(5):1276-83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/CCM.0b013e3181d8cc1d. PMid:20308885.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/CCM.0b013e3181...
). A study conducted with 30 patients with severe sepsis and 30 without sepsis reported that 19 patients evolved to oropharyngeal dysphagia 14 days after ICU admission in the group with sepsis, whereas only seven individuals in the group without sepsis developed oropharyngeal dysphagia(3535 Zielske J, Bohne S, Brunkhorst FM, Axer H, Guntinas Lichius O. Acute and long-term dysphagia in critically ill patients with severe sepsis: results of a prospective controlled observational study. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2014;271(11):3085-93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00405-014-3148-6. PMid:24970291.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00405-014-314...
).

Therefore, severe sepsis is an independent factor related to dysphagia development in severely ill patients, justified by the electrophysiological findings of polyneuropathy and myopathy in all septic patients, causing muscle weakness and playing an important role in the development of dysphagia(3535 Zielske J, Bohne S, Brunkhorst FM, Axer H, Guntinas Lichius O. Acute and long-term dysphagia in critically ill patients with severe sepsis: results of a prospective controlled observational study. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2014;271(11):3085-93. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00405-014-3148-6. PMid:24970291.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00405-014-314...
).

Artificial airways have a negative effect on the larynx and general physiology of swallowing. The literature describes high incidence of dysphagia following intubation, varying widely between 3% and 83%(1010 Ferraris VA, Ferraris SP, Moritz DM, Welch S. Oropharyngeal dysphagia after cardiac operation. Ann Thorac Surg. 2001;71(6):1792-5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(01)02640-6. PMid:11426749.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0003-4975(01)...
,3636 Tolep K, Getch CL, Criner GJ. Swallowing dysfunction in patients receiving prolonged mechanical ventilation. Chest. 1996;109(1):167-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1378/chest.109.1.167. PMid:8549181.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1378/chest.109.1.16...
). The studies investigated showed that prolonged intubation may be an independent predictor for dysphagia(1818 Barker J, Martino R, Reichardt B, Hickey EJ, Ralph-Edwards A. Incidence and impact of dysphagia in patients receiving prolonged endotracheal intubation after cardiac surgery. Can J Surg. 2009;52(2):119-24. PMid:19399206.) and that artificial airways increase the risk of lesions in the upper airways and the larynx, which, in turn, affect the mechanics, aerodynamics, and reflex protection of the first(3636 Tolep K, Getch CL, Criner GJ. Swallowing dysfunction in patients receiving prolonged mechanical ventilation. Chest. 1996;109(1):167-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1378/chest.109.1.167. PMid:8549181.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1378/chest.109.1.16...
).

Kwok et al.(3737 Kwok AM, Davis JW, Cagle KM, Sue LP, Kaups KL. Post-extubation dysphagia in trauma patients: it’s hard to swallow. Am J Surg. 2013;206(6):924-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2013.08.010. PMid:24119720.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2013...
) demonstrated that orotracheal intubation (OI) time is strongly associated with post-extubation dysphagia. Each day, after the first 24 hours on mechanical ventilation, increased the odds of developing dysphagia by 25%. Two days after OI, the risk of oropharyngeal dysphagia reached 50%. The mechanisms that lead to post-extubation dysphagia include multifactorial aspects, such as prolonged inactivity of oropharyngeal muscles, glottal injury, mucosal inflammation, and ulceration of the vocal cords, in addition to mechanical and sensory changes(3838 Bordon A, Bokhari R, Sperry J, Testa D 4th, Feinstein A, Ghaemmaghami V. Swallowing dysfunction after prolonged intubation: analysis of risk factors in trauma patients. Am J Surg. 2011;202(6):679-82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2011.06.030. PMid:21982681.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2011...
).

Another important factor mentioned in the studies analyzed addresses the surgical condition, such as the use of CPB and/or TEE. CPB is commonly used during surgery of coronary and valvular insufficiencies because it allows safety optimization and provides reproducibility of results; however, due to its systemic inflammatory response, CPB is associated with postoperative complications(88 Duarte ST. Fatores de risco para disfagia em pacientes submetidos à cirurgia cardíaca [dissertação]. Curitiba: Universidade Tuiuti do Paraná; 2010. 95 p.,3939 Braile DM. Circulação extracorpórea. Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc. 2010;25(4):1-5. PMid:20563461.). Respiratory complications are the most important, because systemic inflammation alters the vascular permeability of the lung and also causes acute pulmonary injury, respiratory distress syndrome, increased incidence of pneumonia, and longer mechanical ventilation (MV) time(88 Duarte ST. Fatores de risco para disfagia em pacientes submetidos à cirurgia cardíaca [dissertação]. Curitiba: Universidade Tuiuti do Paraná; 2010. 95 p.,4040 Nozawa E, Kobayashi E, Matsumoto ME, Feltrim MI, Carmona MJ, Auler JJ. Avaliação de Fatores que influenciam no desmame de pacientes em ventilação mecânica prolongada após cirurgia cardíaca. Arq Bras Cardiol. 2003;80(3):301-5. PMid:12856273.,4141 Torrati FG, Dantas RAS. Extracorporeal circulation and complications during the immediate postoperative period for cardiac surgery. Acta Paul Enferm. 2012;25(3):340-5. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-21002012000300004.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-21002012...
).

TEE allows dynamic visualization of the surgical procedure, especially in valvular and revascularization surgeries, by means of an esophageal tube; thereby it detects the functionality of the heart and the newly implanted valve(88 Duarte ST. Fatores de risco para disfagia em pacientes submetidos à cirurgia cardíaca [dissertação]. Curitiba: Universidade Tuiuti do Paraná; 2010. 95 p.). Studies have reported association between the use of TEE and the development of oropharyngeal dysphagia postoperatively owing to injuries that can occur in the oropharynx and/or esophagus during OI(77 Skoretz SA, Flowers HL, Martino R. The incidence of dysphagia following endotracheal intubation: a systematic review. Chest. 2010;137(3):665-73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1378/chest.09-1823. PMid:20202948.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1378/chest.09-1823...
,1717 Hogue CW Jr, Lappas GD, Creswell LL, Ferguson TB Jr, Sample M, Pugh D, et al. Swallowing dysfunction after cardiac operations: associated adverse outcomes and risk factors including intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1995;110(2):517-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5223(95)70249-0. PMid:7637370.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5223(95)...
).

Also, the retrospective, cross-sectional studies included in this review only provided data regarding factors related to oropharyngeal dysphagia. Nevertheless, case-control and/or cohort studies, which can identify risk factors for oropharyngeal dysphagia in the population undergoing cardiac surgery, are extremely important.

CONCLUSION

Through this literature review, it was possible to observe that patients undergoing cardiac surgery present several factors related to the development of oropharyngeal dysphagia. The most prevalent factors found in the studies assessed were advanced age, use of cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) during the surgical procedure, and associated comorbidities (neurological, metabolic, development of postoperative sepsis, and previous heart conditions).

Furthermore, articles conducted in Brazil were not found; therefore, the authors suggest research in this theme in order to highlight the reality of the country, such as the characterization of the population undergoing cardiac surgical procedures and incidence and identification of factors that may affect deglutition.

It is worth mentioning the limitations of this review regarding the small number of studies; restriction to Portuguese, English, and Spanish in the inclusion process; and the inability to perform meta-analysis owing to the heterogeneity of the outcomes assessed and the surgical interventions to which the individuals were submitted.

  • Study carried out at Programa de Pós-graduação em Distúrbios da Comunicação Humana, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria – UFSM - Santa Maria (RS), Brazil.
  • Financial support: Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES).

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    26 Sept 2016
  • Date of issue
    Sep-Oct 2016

History

  • Received
    03 Aug 2015
  • Accepted
    08 Oct 2015
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