# THE SWALLOW, A TARGET TO FOLLOW THE RESTAURATION OF CONSCIOUSNESS IN ACQUIRED BRAIN INJURY

## TL;DR

This study found a strong link between swallowing ability and consciousness recovery in patients with brain injuries.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates a novel correlation between swallowing function and consciousness recovery in acquired brain injury patients.

## Key findings

- A strong correlation (0.70) was found between the CRS-R and SWADOC assessments.
- A positive correlation (above 0.60) was observed between the WHIM and SWADOC assessments.
- Improvements in oral phase swallowing correlate with consciousness recovery in brain injury patients.

## Abstract

Brain injuries are the leading cause of disorders of consciousness and are often complicated by swallowing disorders. The aim of this study was to determine whether a correlation existed between swallowing and level of consciousness in patients with acquired brain injury.

This pilot and observational study was conducted in the post intensive care coma arousal rehabilitation on 10 patients with acquired brain injury with disorder of consciousness and swallowing disorder evaluated with the Coma Recovery Scale–Revised (CRS-R) CRS-R evaluation or WHIM scale and a SWallowing Disorders in Disorders of Consciousness (SWADOC) assessment, both conducted in the same timeline frame. Swallowing function was assessed using the SWADOC scale. The level of consciousness was evaluated with the CRS-R and the Wessex Head Injury Matrix (WHIM). A Pearson correlation analysis was performed to examine the potential relationship between swallowing capacity and level of consciousness.

A strong correlation was identified between the CRS-R and WHIM scales with the SWADOC evaluation. Indeed, the correlation between SWADOC and CRS-R reached 0.70, while the correlation between SWADOC and WHIM was above 0.60.

These findings highlight the importance of integrating swallowing evaluation within the multimodal assessment of consciousness recovery.

The authors demonstrated a significant association between improvements in the oral phase of swallowing and the recovery of consciousness in patients with disorders of consciousness, based on the following:
A clinical study.A cohort of consecutive patients diagnosed with disorders of consciousness in unresponsive wakefulness state, minimally consciousness state, and emerging from minimally consciousness state.A positive correlation between oral phase function and the trajectory of consciousness recovery.

A clinical study.

A cohort of consecutive patients diagnosed with disorders of consciousness in unresponsive wakefulness state, minimally consciousness state, and emerging from minimally consciousness state.

A positive correlation between oral phase function and the trajectory of consciousness recovery.