A meta-analysis of the efficacy of balloon dilation intervention for patients with cricopharyngeal achalasia after stroke.

BACKGROUND: The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of balloon dilatation for the treatment of swallowing disorders after stroke. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP, and the Chinese Wanfang database were searched from their inception to 30 October 2024. Two authors independently screened all studies, extracted data, and evaluated the risk of bias in the included studies. Review Manager 5.4 and Stata software (version 16) were used to assess study quality. RESULTS: A total of 25 studies involving 1,134 patients were included in the present analysis. The results suggest that balloon dilatation significantly improves the effective rate (OR = 6.11; 95% CI: 4.16, 8.98), videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) score (MD = 2.23, 95% CI: 1.98, 2.48), and Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) score (MD = 1.93, 95% CI: 1.40, 2.47); it also shortens swallowing passage time (MD = -0.07; 95% CI: -0.08, -0.06), improves the Kubota Drinking Water Test (KDWT) score (MD = -1.01, 95% CI: -1.55, -0.47), and reduces the incidence of aspiration pneumonia (OR = 0.46; 95% CI: 0.21, 0.98). CONCLUSION: Compared to routine rehabilitation training, balloon dilation is a safer and more effective method for improving swallowing function.