Efficacy of NUTRI’s Softia S Product in Patients with Dysphagia

Background: Dysphagia of various origins is widespread. There is a high risk of developing formidable complications: malnutrition, dehydration, weight loss, airway obstruction, aspiration pneumonia. The product Softia S is used to solve the problems of swallowing liquids. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan financed this study within the framework of the 8-Point Cooperation Plan presented by the Prime Minister of Japan S. Abe to the President of the Russian Federation V. V. Putin in May 2016. Aims: Assessment of the efficacy and safety of NUTRI’s Softia S product for patients with dysphagia of various origins. Materials and methods: Complex assessment of dysphagia included speech therapy, video fluoroscopy and video laryngoscopy with assessment of swallowing function Rosenbek (PAS) and FEDSS scales. Patients were divided into 2 groups (experiment and control). The study lasted 14 days. Examination by a speech therapist and a nutritionist was carried out daily. On the 1st and 14th days, laboratory parameters were monitored, and the patient’s body weight was determined. Results: The study included 30 patients with mild dysphagia. By the end of the study, 8 people in the experimental group showed a restoration of the swallowing function, residual effects in the form of choking persisted in 7 people. In the control group, a slight improvement was observed in 2 patients, 13 had no changes. The most significant changes were found in the experimental group for the indicators "Time of eating" ("Breakfast", on average, 3.7 minutes, p=0.0033; "Lunch", on average, 6.9 minutes, p <0.0001); "The number of chokes after hydration" ("Breakfast" by an average of 7.0, p <0.0001; "Lunch" by an average of 8.1, p <0.0001; "Dinner" by an average of 6.8, p <0.0001); "The number of chokes during hydration" ("Breakfast" by an average of 8.8, p <0.0001; "Lunch" by an average of 12.1, p <0.0001; "Dinner" by an average of 8.7, p <0.0001). The number of dysphonia cases with sputum significantly decreased only in the experimental group. Conclusions: Softia S can be used in complex therapy for dysphagia by reducing the amount of choking after and during hydration and time of eating and dysphonia cases with sputum.