Distinct Dysphagia Profiles in Patients With Oral Cancer After Surgery.
Asha Mathew, Mark B Lockwood, Alana D Steffen and 4 others
PMID 37677804WHAT IT FOUND
Patients after oral cancer surgery fall into five distinct symptom groups.
Those with dry mouth often report long-term swallowing issues, while those with thick mucus report short-term difficulties alongside speech problems. This suggests tailoring nursing assessments to these specific symptom clusters.
Key findings
01Five distinct patient profiles were identified based on symptom severity, with dysphagia appearing in all but the 'all mild' group.
02Patients with dysphagia and dry mouth were typically one to two years post-diagnosis and had received radiation, whereas those with dysphagia and increased mucus were two to three months post-treatment and mostly had not received radiation.
03Two profiles comprising 19% of the sample reported severe dysphagia alongside sleep disturbances, pain, and fatigue, and had the highest interference with daily living.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used a convenience sample from a single center in India, which may limit generalizability to other populations. The cross-sectional design means the profiles represent a snapshot in time, not how symptoms evolve for individual patients. Latent profile analysis assigns patients to groups based on probabilities, so the identified profiles may not reflect actual biological subgroups. The sample size was estimated for LPA power, but the study notes that criteria for LPA sample size are still emerging.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was supported by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) and the University of Illinois Chicago.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume these profiles are fixed biological types or that this study proves specific interventions work. The profiles are statistical groupings based on self-reported symptoms at one point in time, and the study did not test any treatments.