Effect and Safety of Tongyan Spray () on Hyoid Motion in Patients with Dysphagia after Ischemic Stroke.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects and safety of Tongyan Spray () on the range and time of hyoid motion in patients with ischemic post-stroke dysphagia. METHODS: Seventy-two patients with ischemic post-stroke dysphagia were selected and randomly assigned to a treatment group (36 cases) and a control group (36 cases) by a random number table from January 2013 to October 2014. All patients swallowed 4 kinds of barium meals with different traits respectively, and each patient underwent video fluoroscopy (VF) examination twice. In the treatment group, Tongyan Spray was sprayed to the pharynx on both sides and the middle part once respectively. The spray was applied 30 min before the second examination. Purified water at room temperature was used as placebo in the control group. The changes in the range and time of hyoid motion in both groups were observed before and after treatment. RESULTS: Six patients dropped out in each group, and 60 patients completed the study and were included in the final analysis. Significant improvement was observed in the range of superior hyoid excursion distance and the time of hyoid motion in the treatment group compared with the control group (P<0.05). There were no obvious adverse reactions observed in oral mucosa in both groups during the whole study. CONCLUSION: Tongyan Spray was an effective and safe medicine for improving swallowing function in patients with ischemic post-stroke dysphagia.