Dysphagia is common and serious problem in stroke patients. The poststroke dysphagia with aspiration is associated with dehydration, malnutrition, pneumonia, sepsis and death.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of dysphagia in stroke pateints using videofluoroscopy(VFS) test, for the purpose of establishing the guideline to manage dysphagia.

Twenty five stroke patients who complained of swallowing difficulty were evaluated using with videofluoroscopy with liquid and semisolid materials. The twenty subjects who had not swallowing difficulty were evaluated as a control group.

The results were as follows:

1) Fifteen patients showed abnormal findings in VFS; Two patients showed the abnormal findings in oral phase, four patients in pharyngeal phase, and remaining nine patients in oral phase and pharyngeal phase.

2) Ten patients revealed aspiration on videofuoroscopy(VFS). Two patients showed aspiration in preswallowing phase, three patients during swallowing phase, four patients in postswallowing phase, and remaining one patient showed during swallowing phase and postswallowing phase.

3) The Pharyngeal Transit Time(PTT) of bulbar lesion group was significantly prolonged compared to it of pseudobulbar lesion group. And the PTT of aspiration group was significantly prolonged compared to it of control group.

The videofluoroscopy was useful examination for establishing the treatment guideline for dysphagia with stroke, because we could get objective data about oral and pharyngeal phase respectively, and also types, mechanisms, and severity of aspiration.