Therapeutic effect of speech valve combined with intermittent theta burst stimulation on dysphagia after stroke

Liu Chunmin; Chen Xusheng; Niu Wei; Qin Qing

doi:10.11850/j.issn.1009-122X.2023.12.029

Abstract：Objective To investigate the efficacy of speech valve combined with intermittent theta burst stimulation(iTBS)in patients with dysphagia after stroke.Methods A total of 120 hospitalized patients with dysphagia after stroke were selected as the study subjects and randomly divided into a control group and an observation group,with 60 patients in each group.The control group received conventional swallowing function training,while the observation group received additional treatment with speech valve combined with iTBS on top of the conventional training.The therapeutic effects and adverse reactions were observed in both groups.Additionally,differences in neurological function indicators,swallowing function indicators,and serum neural injury markers were compared before and after treatment between the two groups.Results Compared with the control group,the observation group showed better clinical efficacy and a lower incidence of adverse reactions(both P<0.05).After treatment,the observation group had significantly lower scores on the Standardized Swallowing Assessment(SSA),Water Swallowing Test(WST)grading,National Institute of Health Stroke Scale(NIHSS),and Chinese Stroke Scale of Clinical Neurological Deficit Grade(CSS),as well as a higher score on the Functional Oral Intake Scale(FOIS)compared to the control group(all P<0.05).Furthermore,the levels of serum visinin-like protein-1(VILIP-1),neuropeptide Y(NPY),fibulin-5(FBLN-5),and neuron-specific enolase(NSE)were significantly reduced in the observation group compared to the control group(all P<0.05).Conclusions The combined treatment of speech valve and iTBS can effectively regulate serum neural injury markers,significantly improve swallowing and neurological functions in patients with dysphagia after stroke,and demonstrate high safety.