Exploration of a remote swallowing training model after laryngeal cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic (Preprint)

Abstract

Patients with supraglottic laryngeal carcinoma have the need to receive swallowing rehabilitation training, and during the COVID-19 pandemic patients do not have the conditions to come to the hospital frequently for follow-up, so it is imperative to explore a new remote rehabilitation training model based on network conditions.

The aim was to explore the effect of remote rehabilitation training mode on the improvement of postoperative swallowing function in patients with supraglottic laryngeal carcinoma.

Patients with supraglottic laryngeal carcinoma were divided into an experimental group receiving remote rehabilitation training (n=16) and a control group receiving video rehabilitation training (n=16). Baseline assessments of subjective and objective swallowing function were performed during the first week after the start of postoperative transoral feeding, swallowing function rehabilitation training was started, and patients' swallowing function was monitored again one week and three weeks after the intervention to compare the improvement of swallowing function and vocalization of complications related to swallowing disorders.

Patients in the experimental group began to show significant improvement in subjective swallowing function from the 2nd week (P<0.05). The improvement of both subjective and objective swallowing function in the experimental group was significantly better than that in the control group throughout the rehabilitation training process (P<0.05). The overall swallowing function of the experimental group was better than that of the control group in the 4th week (P<0.05). At the end of the rehabilitation training, patients in the experimental group had better nutritional status.

The remote rehabilitation training model has an improving effect on patients with supraglottic laryngeal cancer postoperative swallowing disorder, which provides a theoretical basis for the design and improvement of the future remote rehabilitation training model. This study suggests that this training model should be incorporated into the daily postoperative management of laryngeal cancer patients to improve the efficiency of patients' recovery, provide patients with real-time medical information, and relieve patients' anxiety, thus reducing the need for repeated visits and improving patients' postoperative quality of life.