A Systematic Review of Swallowing Training Measures for Postoperative Oral Cancer Patients

Swallowing disorder is one of the most common postoperative complications for oral cancer patients and seriously influences quality of life. Limited attention has been paid to evaluating swallowing training measures in postoperative oral cancer patients. This study systematically reviewed swallowing training measures for these patients. A comprehensive search strategy was undertaken across various databases for studies published between database inception and 15 June 2021. Raters independently judged titles, abstracts and full articles for selection according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. The included literature was evaluated for quality and data were extracted. Meta-analyses were conducted using RevMan 5.3. Ten intervention studies (four randomized controlled trials and six quasi-experimental studies) involving 588 patients were identified. Across the studies, most started in the early postoperative stage; however, there were differences in starting time, training time and duration, and type of training. We summarized four training methods: oral exercise, oral sensory stimulation, compensatory strategies and protective airway manoeuvres. The meta-analysis indicated that swallowing training could improve patients’ swallowing function and quality of life in the short term, but the long-term effects were not obvious. Swallowing training mostly occurred in the early postoperative period and training measures were often used in combination. The timing, frequency and content of interventions varied between studies, and the effectiveness of any single measure was unclear. High-quality randomized controlled trials are necessary to study the efficacy and clinical applicability of various training measures, to provide a theoretical basis for their optimal selection and to develop a standardized training programme for postoperative oral cancer patients.