Scientific Evidence of Therapeutic Rehabilitation Techniques in Neonatal Dysphagia: Systematic Review

Introduction: Systematic reviews are useful in the knowledge production, professional development, and evidence-based practice. The neonatal dysphagia is a disorder with a major impact on health and quality of life. Therefore, studies that present effective and efficient techniques are important to support in clinical decisions.

Objectives: To conduct a systematic review of scientific evidence on the therapeutic techniques used in the neonatal dysphagia rehabilitation.

Method(s): Were investigated papers published from 2000 to 2013 in Portuguese and English, who reported scientific evidence of noninvasive techniques for the neonatal dysphagia treatment. The databases searched were Embase, Lilacs/BVS, Periódicos CAPES, PubMed, and SciELO. Articles were selected by two researchers for the title and summary and the included articles were reviewed by two other researchers.

Result(s): A total of 191,174 publications were identified. After the application of search filters remaining 3,836 items for review. Only four studies met the inclusion criteria. Included articles addressed the effects of sensory-motor-oral stimulation (three studies) and cheek and jaw support to improve feeding performance.

Conclusion: Although some articles in dysphagia rehabilitation show promise for enhancing feeding/swallowing in neonates, methodological limitations and variations in results across studies warrant careful consideration of their clinical use.