PURPOSE: To verify the incidence of oropharyngeal dysphagia in institutionalized patients with spastic tetraparetic cerebral palsy, correlating the findings with food consistency and type of hydration. METHODS: A total of 140 patients, with an average of 28 years old, participated in the study. The following data were gathered from their medical records: swallowing impairment, as classified according to the ROGS protocol; feeding type and food consistencies; hydration type. RESULTS: It was observed the presence of different degrees of oropharyngeal dysphagia, and most of the patients (40%) had functional deglutition. From the patients with functional deglutition and mild dysphagia, the majority, 65% and 50% respectively, were put on a doughy-consistency-based diet. From the patients with moderate dysphagia, 66.7% were put on a semi-liquid-consistency-based diet, and 94.7% of the patients with severe dysphagia used alternative feeding means. From the total number of patients, 63.6% had a liquid diet, and 10.7% received gelatin as hydration. CONCLUSION: The incidence of oropharyngeal dysphagia, adding its different impairment degrees, was high among patients with spastic tetraparetic cerebral palsy, although functional deglutition was the most often found. Doughy consistency food was more common among patients diagnosed with functional deglutition and mild dysphagia. Most patients with severe dysphagia used alternative feeding means. Fine liquid was more often found as the hydration type for most patients, and it was frequently substituted by gelatin depending on the severity of the swallowing impairment.
Cerebral palsy; Deglutition disorders; Feeding; Inpatients
