European stroke journal
Effects of oral hygiene care on swallowing recovery in hospitalised patients with post-stroke dysphagia: a systematic review and meta-analysis
By Pojmonpiti S, Meersschaut M, Batens K and 3 others.
Abstract
Objective
To evaluate the effects of oral hygiene care on swallowing-related outcomes in hospitalised patients with post-stroke dysphagia (PSD).
Methods
A systematic literature search was conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus, CINAHL, CENTRAL and ClinicalTrials.gov up to May 2026. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and non-RCTs with a comparison group that reporting swallowing-related outcomes were included. Risk of bias was assessed using RoB 2 for RCTs and ROBINS-I for non-RCTs. Where appropriate, meta-analyses were conducted using random-effects models to estimate mean differences (MDs), odds ratios (ORs) and risk differences (RDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The certainty of the evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework.