Swallowing rehabilitation in aspiration pneumonia: A scoping review of compensatory strategies and exercise training effectiveness.

Aspiration pneumonia (AP) is a major concern in aging populations. AP management requires a comprehensive, multimodal approach-notably including swallowing rehabilitation, oral care, and risk factor management. This scoping review evaluates evidence on swallowing rehabilitation for AP, which consists of compensatory strategies and exercise training. A systematic literature search identified 23 eligible studies from 522 articles; four directly investigated swallowing rehabilitation in AP, while 19 focused on patients with dysphagia due to stroke, neurological diseases, or aging. Two large-scale retrospective AP-specific studies demonstrated a correlation between rehabilitation and improved oral intake but did not evaluate AP prevention or specify effective components. In one study, water jelly ingestion reduced AP incidence. Another study demonstrated the benefits of texture-modified diets in reducing aspiration risk, although AP prevention was not assessed. While clinically compensatory strategies remain foundational, current evidence does not support routine exercise-based interventions for AP prevention. Further high-quality studies are needed.