Abstract
Background
The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of the application of Swallowing Disorders Rehabilitation to patients diagnosed with schizophrenia with dysphagia and saliva problems.
Methods
For the study, 53 patients who were diagnosed with schizophrenia and had swallowing complaints were screened with the Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10), 6 patients were not included in the study because they did not meet the criteria for dysphagia. The study started with 47 patients, but the study was completed with 7 patients (4 men, 3 women) who continued the treatment. Education level and disease history were questioned with the Sociodemographic Data Form. The swallowing disorder rehabilitation program was applied as a total of 12 sessions at 3 sessions per week for 4 weeks. The swallowing function was evaluated with the EAT-10, saliva with the Saliva Control Severity and Frequency Scale, and Trismus evaluation of mouth opening was made with calipers, before and after the rehabilitation program, and the scores obtained were statistically compared.
Results
The efficacy of the swallowing function, the severity and frequency of saliva, and the Trismus opening were determined to have statistically significantly improved after the application of Swallowing Disorder Rehabilitation compared to the pre-treatment values (p < 0.05). The disease history, education level and physical activity levels were not found to affect the treatment results.
Conclusions
Evaluation of patients with schizophrenia in terms of swallowing and salivary problems and implementation of necessary rehabilitation approaches reduce the problem of saliva and dysphagia.