From June 27 to 28, the 2025 Nanjing Municipal Continuing Medical Education Program, “Assessment and Treatment Training Workshop for Patients with Swallowing Disorders,” hosted by Nanjing Zijin Hospital, successfully concluded at the Jiangning Campus. The training brought together numerous renowned experts from the field, offering participants a high‑level academic experience through a combination of theoretical lectures, hands-on demonstrations, and case discussions.

Ge Jiangping, President of Nanjing Zijin Hospital, extended a warm welcome to all colleagues attending this training session. She began by introducing Nanjing Zijin Hospital. As a tertiary rehabilitation hospital specializing in critical-care rehabilitation, the majority of its patients suffer from conditions such as stroke and traumatic brain injury. Dysphagia is a common complication of these disorders, significantly impairing patients’ quality of life and hindering their recovery. Consequently, precise assessment and personalized treatment are essential for improving swallowing function.

Authoritative guidance clarifies and standardizes clinical practice.

Gao Zhiqiang, Executive Vice President of Nanjing Zijin Hospital, began by outlining the development history of China’s Guidelines for the Rehabilitation Management of Swallowing Disorders. He then provided a systematic overview of the definition and etiology of swallowing disorders, drawing on more than four decades of clinical experience to offer a detailed analysis of the guidelines’ approaches to screening and assessment. Through concrete case examples and an examination of relevant literature, he underscored the importance of integrating clinical observation with ancillary diagnostic tests to evaluate treatment outcomes, while emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding of evidence levels and recommendation strengths.

Multidisciplinary Integration: Exploring New Possibilities in Rehabilitation

Dysphagia‑induced aspiration, if left without proper guidance and timely intervention, can lead to aspiration pneumonia or exacerbate pulmonary infections—making it one of the leading causes of complications in critically ill patients undergoing mechanical ventilation. As the assistant to the president of Nanjing Zijin Hospital and director of the Qinhuai Campus’s Department of Critical Care Medicine and Weaning Center, Dr. Wang Changbao has firsthand experience with the challenges involved in weaning patients from mechanical ventilation. Dr. Wang provided a detailed explanation—combining theoretical instruction with a demonstration by rehabilitation therapist Zhang Heting—on how to create favorable conditions for weaning and on standardizing the weaning process.

According to statistics, approximately 590 million people worldwide suffer from dysphagia, and malnutrition and aspiration pneumonia are closely linked to this condition. Gao Jirong, Director of the Awakening Center at the Qinhuai Branch of Nanjing Zijin Hospital, provided an in-depth discussion on the prevention and treatment of these complications, analyzed the selection of nutritional support strategies for patients with dysphagia, and, starting with the imaging characteristics of aspiration pneumonia, explained its diagnosis, management, and prevention—aiming to help patients live with dignity.

Zhang Wenbin, chief physician of the Department of Neurosurgery at the Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, meticulously analyzed the therapeutic efficacy of neuromodulation strategies—including spinal cord stimulation and deep brain stimulation—for post-stroke limb dysfunction, drawing on a wealth of published domestic and international studies and clinical cases. As 2025 marks the “inaugural year of brain–computer interfaces,” Chief Physician Zhang also shared insights into the latest brain–computer interface technologies both at home and abroad.

Liu Yafeng, Assistant to the President of Nanjing Zijin Hospital and Director of the Department of Gastroenterology at the Jiangning Campus, began by outlining the definition and adverse consequences of dysphagia, then systematically presented clinical screening methods, nutritional support strategies, and dietary management protocols—emphasizing that safe eating can be achieved through food classification and texture modification. Personalized food selection forms the cornerstone of safe feeding and requires multidisciplinary collaborative care.

Hands-on empowerment to strengthen technology implementation.

As one of the earliest experts to engage with FEES (Fiber Optic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing), Dr. Wang Tong, Chief Physician at Jiangsu Provincial People’s Hospital, systematically outlined the clinical applications of FEES, enabling the development of individualized rehabilitation plans for patients and effectively facilitating the recovery of swallowing function, thereby improving the quality of life for individuals with dysphagia.

In the Chinese Guidelines for Rehabilitation Management of Dysphagia (2023 Edition), acupuncture is recommended as a highly effective intervention to improve swallowing function in patients with dysphagia, with a high level of evidence and strong endorsement. Gao Hongliang, Director of the Rehabilitation Therapy Center, explained the acupoint selection and theoretical rationale underlying the Xingnao Kaiqiao acupuncture technique, and demonstrated key procedural points and important precautions through hands-on practice for the attendees.

Chen Ying, head of the ST therapy team at the Jiangning Campus of Nanjing Zijin Hospital, boasts extensive clinical experience in swallowing function assessment and evaluation. During this training course, Chen Ying earned unanimous praise from participants for her expert FEES (Fiber‑optic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing) technique and insightful knowledge sharing.

Zhang Nan, another rehabilitation therapist with extensive experience on the clinical front lines, offers profound insights into the manifestations and treatment strategies for dysphagia at each stage. Through live demonstrations, she explained various rehabilitation techniques, such as the Masako method and laryngopharyngeal muscle training, helping participants gain a deeper understanding and master these approaches.

Nanjing Zijin Hospital has long been committed to intensive rehabilitation therapy and related research. The successful organization of this municipal continuing education program, the “Training Workshop on the Assessment and Treatment of Patients with Swallowing Disorders,” not only deepened participants’ understanding of assessing such patients but also enhanced their skills in providing effective treatment.

Going forward, Nanjing Zijin Hospital will continue to deepen its expertise in the rehabilitation of patients with dysphagia, delivering more comprehensive, professional, and patient-centered care, and bringing a beacon of hope for health to an increasing number of critically ill patients.