A retrospective analysis of the risk factors for choking in patients with dysphagia

Objective To explore effective precautions and interventions for choking in dysphagia patients. Methods Clinical data on f dysphagia patients hospitalized from September 1, 1996 to Aug 8, 2014 were retrospectively analyzed to correlate choking with gender, age, consciousness, type of aspiration, food-intake pathway and food texture. Results Only 0.17% of the patients (n=8) were found to have choked, and 6 of them were men. Children, teenagers, the middle-aged and the aged constituted 25%, 12.5%, 37.5% and 25% of the patients respectively. 75% were conscious and 62.5% displayed silent aspiration. 6 cases used oral intake and 2 used nasogastric tube feeding. Among the 8 choking patients, half ate solid food, 2 semisolid and 2 liquid food. Six survived and 2 died. Conclusion The risk factors for choking include silent aspiration and oral intake of solid or semisolid food. The successful rescue rate for choking is relatively low, so clinicians should be aware of and try to eliminate these risk factors. Key words: Dsyphagia; Choking; Risk factors; Precautions