This study examined the prevalence of substandard oral fluid intake in hospitalized stroke patients and investigated group differences in amount of fluids offered and intake between two viscosity groups (i.e., participants receiving thin or thickened liquids). This study also investigated how well level of functional status for cognition, communication, self-feeding and dysphagia severity predicts oral fluid intake for participants receiving thin liquids and participants receiving thickened liquids. Thirty-nine adults (mean 69.7 years +/- 17.5 years) admitted to a large urban hospital with a diagnosis of cerebrovascular accident were enrolled in this prospective study. The amount of fluids offered and amount of oral fluid intake were monitored for 72 consecutive hours. A conservative fluid intake standard of 1500
The results supported previous findings that participants receiving thickened liquids consumed substandard amounts of fluids and drank significantly less than participants receiving thin liquids. However, participants receiving thin liquids also exhibited high prevalence of substandard fluid intake despite being offered significantly more fluids than participants receiving thickened liquids. No one functional domain (e.g., cognition, communication, self-feeding and level of dysphagia severity) significantly predicted oral fluid intake for either viscosity groups. The clinical implications of the positive findings and possible explanations for non-significant findings are discussed.