Conclusions
Although the clinical presentation of dysphagia may be similar between
ABI and stroke, the rehabilitation needs and appropriate treatment
approaches for these two groups may be unique due to differing
underlying pathophysiology. Therefore, it is important to collate the
number and type of interventions specifically treated in individuals
with ABI. This information is important for clinicians who are providing
therapy for those with ABI. Traditionally, rehabilitative management for
dysphagia in ABI have been guided by the stroke literature; however, the
generalizability of stroke dysphagia interventions to those with ABI is
unknown. To ensure rehabilitation interventions with the strongest
research evidence are offered to patients, therapists must be aware of
the options available to them. This review has succinctly summarized the
available literature, in terms of number, intervention type, population
studied, and outcomes assessed.
This scoping review has identified a number of gaps for which future
studies should investigate dysphagia rehabilitation interventions in ABI
that 1) utilize high-quality study design methodology, 2) further
investigate the effect of multimodal interventions, and 3) consider
using standardized and/or validated outcome measures to allow for more
accurate comparisons of findings across studies investigating similar
interventions. Furthermore, to establish an evidence base for dysphagia
rehabilitation specifically in ABI, and to determine the
generalizability of dysphagia interventions from the stroke literature
to individuals with ABI, future studies should strive to recruit more
homogeneous brain injury populations or stratify results by etiology
when assessing treatment effectiveness.