Effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on lip strength and closure function in patients with dysphagia after stroke.
Dong-Hwan Oh, Ji-Su Park, Won-Jin Kim
PMID 29200638WHAT IT FOUND
After four weeks of lip NMES in eight patients with post-stroke dysphagia, lip strength measured as pressure rose from 15.9 to 20.5 kPa and closure scores moved closer to intact.
With no comparison group, this cannot show NMES caused the change.
Key findings
01Eight patients with post-stroke dysphagia received NMES to the orbicularis oris for 30 min/d, 5 d/wk, for 4 weeks.
02Measured lip closure pressure increased from 15.9 ± 3.3 kPa to 20.5 ± 4.2 kPa after intervention.
03Lip closure scores decreased from 2.7 ± 0.9 to 1.2 ± 0.6 on a scale where 0 is intact, 2 is inadequate, and 4 is none.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only eight patients were included, so the findings cannot show that the treatment works for many patients. There was no comparison group, so the before-after change cannot prove NMES caused the improvement. The paper does not state whether participants received other swallowing or rehabilitation treatment, so the contribution of NMES alone cannot be separated from concurrent care. Outcomes were reported only after the four-week intervention, so persistence of any change is unknown. The report does not describe randomisation, blinding, dropouts, or adverse events.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that NMES alone improves lip strength or closure after stroke. The study had only eight patients, no comparison group, and did not report other treatments, so natural recovery or concurrent therapy could explain the change.