Use of biofeedback combined with conventional therapy in the swallowing rehabilitation of older adults: an integrative literature review

ABSTRACT

Purpose:

to identify biofeedback methods combined with conventional therapy in the swallowing rehabilitation of older adults.

Methods

:an integrative literature review that searched the LILACS, MEDLINE/PubMed, BIREME, SciELO, and Scopus databases, with no restrictions of time or language. The search items used were deglutition, biofeedback, elderly, rehabilitation, and their corresponding terms in Portuguese. The articles were evaluated with the adapted Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS).

Results:

out of the 73 articles found in the databases, four, with a longitudinal design, were considered eligible. The biofeedback methods described were accelerometry, pressure balloon, and surface electromyography. The swallowing disorders observed were hypofunctioning of articulatory organs, increased oral transit, decreased laryngeal elevation, residues in pyriform sinuses and vallecula, reduced cough reflex, and change in voice quality. Regarding the effectiveness assessment of the recommended technique, a study used the clinical assessment combined with videofluoroscopy, before and after the treatment, two studies used the videofluoroscopy before the treatment and clinical assessment after it, and one study used clinical assessment prior to the treatment and swallowing videoendoscopy after it. As for the assessment of bias risk, one article was classified as low, two as intermediate, and one as high, in terms of risk.

Conclusion:

the biofeedback methods combined with conventional therapy to treat dysphagia in older adults were accelerometry, pressure balloon, and surface electromyography, whose use had positive effects.

Keywords:
Dysphagia; Rehabilitation; Neurofeedback; Aged