Utilization of Instrumentation in Swallowing Assessment of Surgical Patients during COVID-19

Simple Summary COVID-19 has significantly altered healthcare delivery worldwide. The pandemic presented significant challenges for the assessment of dysphagia in the acute care setting, particularly for surgical patients, many of whom are at a high risk of aspiration. Instrumental assessment of swallowing is critically important and service delivery for this at-risk patient population was significantly impacted by the pandemic. In many institutions, instrumental assessment was halted or eliminated from the clinical workflow at the beginning of the pandemic, leaving clinicians without evidence-based gold standards to definitively evaluate swallowing function. This study describes a successful return to best practice in swallowing assessment in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study is to describe a measured return to instrumental dysphagia assessments for our vulnerable surgical patient population, such that best practice patterns could be resumed and our staff kept safe from transmission of COVID-19. A retrospective medical record review provided data on clinical practice patterns of swallowing assessment in an at-risk surgical patient population. Outcomes of this study support protocols that allow clinicians to safely resume the use of instrumental assessment and return to best practice in dysphagia assessment for our surgical patient population.