Feinstein Institutes study challenges the use of thick liquid diets in hospitalized patients with dementia and dysphagia

MANHASSET, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Up to 86 percent of hospitalized patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) have oropharyngeal dysphagia (dysphagia), a type of swallowing dysfunction that can lead to aspiration, pneumonia, malnutrition, intubation, and even death. Although dysphagia diets, consisting of thick liquids, are widely used, it is unknown whether thick liquids improve patient outcomes. To study the effect of thick versus thin liquids – which are assumed to be eas