Tactile, thermal and gustatory stimulation therapy in the treatment of post-stroke oropharyngeal dysphagia: a scoping review.

Purpose: To map in the literature the effects of tactile, thermal and/or gustatory stimulation on oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) post-stroke.

Methods: This scoping review was conducted following the recommendations of PRISMA- ScR and the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI), registered on the Open Science Framework and developed without language or publication period restrictions. Different databases and grey literature were used for article selection, and the PCC mnemonics constructed the research question ad eligibility criteria, thus including clinical studies involving adults (over 18 years old) diagnosed with OD post-stroke, who received tactile-thermal (TTS) and/or taste-gustatory (TGS) and/or tactile-thermal-gustatory stimulation for treatment, and had their effect measured through examinations, scales, or clinical assessment. The review was conducted blindly and independently by two researchers, and a third was consulted in cases of disagreements.

Results: Three studies were included. None of them addressed an individual TGS protocol, and all presented a TTS protocol. The objectives and evaluation tests of each study were distinct, providing different perspectives about TGS in OD; there was uniformity in the presentation of the applied protocols, frequency, and materials used for therapy.

Conclusion: The studies mapped the effect of TTS from different methodological designs and specific measures; no articles were found that evaluated isolated TGS associated with another technique.