Predictive Factors for Oral Intake Recovery After Acute Stroke: Analysis of a Japanese Nationwide Inpatient Database

Objective It remains unclear which factors contribute to dysphagia recovery after an acute stroke. This study aimed to identify factors associated with complete oral intake recovery in patients with post-stroke dysphagia. Methods Data were obtained from the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database, which is a nationwide database of administrative claims and discharge abstracts in Japan. We selected patients admitted within 3 days of stroke onset and conducted multivariable logistic regression analysis. Total oral intake within 30 days of admission was the primary outcome measure. Results A total of 151,302 patients were included, and total oral intake was observed in 48% of them within 30 days of admission. Total oral intake was significantly associated with age, sex, stroke subtype, consciousness disturbance, low body mass index, multiple comorbidities, and the modified Rankin Scale before stroke onset. In addition, males had worse outcomes than females (odds ratio, 0.75; 95% confidence interval, 0.73–0.77, p