Fiberoptic nasopharyngoscopic evaluation of swallowing for the detection of dysphagia in patients with stroke: a integrative review

Difficulty for swallowing, clinically defined as dysphagia, is a common manifestation in stroke patients and significantly increases the risk of clinical complications. The objective of this study was to perform a integrative review of the literature regarding the accuracy of Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES) for detecting dysphagia in patients with stroke. Methods: We conducted a search for articles published from 2000 to 2021 in the PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Bireme databases. The following keywords were used: "fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES)" and "stroke". Results: It was identified 23 articles that utilized fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) to screen stroke patients for dysphagia. The overall sensitivity and specificity of fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) ranged from 55.9% to 100%. Conclusions: The standardization of specific protocols for the diagnosis of dysphagia in stroke patients is necessary, both in clinical tests and fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES), as special care is essential for these patients given their unique clinical characteristics.