Clinical Utility of the Bedside Swallowing Evaluations for Dysphagia

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To assess the sensitivity and specificity of bedside swallowing evaluation for detecting tracheal aspiration. METHOD: Thirty patients who complained of swallowing difficulty or had potential for dysphagia were evaluated using videofluoroscopy and bedside swallowing evaluation for dysphagia. The bedside swallowing evaluations included gag reflex, laryngeal elevation, water swallowing test and swallowing provocation test. We compared bedside swallowing evaluations with videofluoroscopy to determine the sensitivity and specificity in detecting tracheal aspiration. RESULTS: The comparison of the all combination of bedside swallowing evaluation and videofluoroscopic results suggested that the sensitivity and specificity in the detection of tracheal aspiration was 84.6%, 47.0% respectively. CONCLUSION: Bedside swallowing evaluations are limited for screening test of tracheal aspiration, so videofluoroscopic swallowing studies would be necessary to evaluate swallowing difficulty.