Dysphagia is common in acute stroke, affecting more than half of patients in the early stages of their recovery. Complications associated with dysphagia include dehydration, malnutrition and respiratory infections, including aspiration pneumonia. However, dysphagia alone is not enough to predict which patients will develop respiratory infections. This publication examines the factors that predict patients who are at greatest risk of developing respiratory infections in the acute phase of their stroke. Patients who were admitted to hospitals in Western Australia with stroke were...