Relationship between oral intake and severity of Acute Stroke.

Purpose: To correlate stroke severity with oral intake level of the studied population and compare the two factors at the time of admission and after swallowing management.

Methods: A total of 137 patients hospitalized in the cerebral vascular accident unit (CVAU) of a teaching hospital participated. During the stay at CVAU, the patients were submitted to daily neurological evaluation and application of National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), to evaluate the severity of stroke, ranging from zero (without evidence of neurological deficit) to 42 (in coma and unresponsive).