Oropharyngeal Dysphagia is a Risk Factor for Readmission for Pneumonia in the Very Elderly Persons: Observational Prospective Study

Background. To determine whether oropharyngeal dysphagia is a risk factor for readmission for pneumonia in elderly persons discharged from an acute geriatric unit. Methods. Observational prospective cohort study with data collection based on clinical databases and electronic clinical notes. All elderly individuals discharged from an acute geriatric unit from June 2002 to December 2009 were recruited and followed until death or December 31, 2010. All individuals were initially classified according to the pres-ence of oropharyngeal dysphagia assessed by bedside clinical examination. Main outcome measure was readmission for pneumonia. Clinical notes were reviewed by an expert clinician to verify diagnosis and classify pneumonia as aspiration or nonaspiration pneumonia. Results. A total of 2,359 patients (61.9 % women, mean age 84.9 y) were recruited and followed for a mean of 24 months. Dysphagia was diagnosed in 47.5 % of cases. Overall, 7.9 % of individuals were readmitted for pneumonia during follow-up, 24.2 % of these had aspiration pneumonia. The incidence rate of hospital readmission for pneumoni