Background: Postextubation dysphagia is a known consequence of endotracheal intubation. Several risk factors for postextubation dysphagia have been identified that could be used to help determine which patients should undergo swallowing assessment by an appropriate professional.
Local Problem: At the authors' institution, critical care nurses, health care providers, and speech-language pathology professionals lacked a clear process for referring patients for swallowing assessment after extubation, resulting in inefficiency and confusion.