Dysphagia
Conditions
Brief summary
This study aims to translate and validate Italian versions of several clinical assessment tools for patients with neurogenic dysphagia. The instruments include: The New Zealand Secretion Severity Scale, which evaluates secretion management; The Reflex Cough Test from the I&I cranial nerves assessment; The VASES scale used during fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing; The Drooling Severity Scale, which measures saliva control. The study will include approximately 100 patients with neurogenic dysphagia. The goal is to provide reliable, standardized tools in Italian to support clinicians in assessing swallowing and oral-motor function in patients with neurological disorders.
Interventions
DIAGNOSTIC_TESTdysphagia assessment
no intervention but validation of assessments
Sponsors
IRCCS San Camillo, Venezia, Italy
Study design
Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 85 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
IInclusion Criteria: Adult patients (≥18 years) diagnosed with neurogenic dysphagia due to any neurological condition (e.g., stroke, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury) Able to understand and comply with study procedures Provide written informed consent (or legal representative consent if necessary) Stable medical and neurological condition at the time of assessment
Exclusion criteria
Active respiratory infection or acute illness affecting swallowing at the time of assessment History of head and neck surgery or anatomical abnormalities preventing standardized assessment of swallowing or reflex cough Severe uncontrolled comorbidities (cardiac, pulmonary, or systemic) that make study participation unsafe
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Internal consistency of secretion and drooling scales | Baseline | Description: Internal consistency of the New Zealand Secretions Severity Scale (NZSS) and Drooling Severity Scale (DSS). Scale titles: New Zealand Secretions Severity Scale (NZSS) Drooling Severity Scale (DSS) Range: NZSS: 0-7 (higher score = greater secretion severity) DSS: 1-5 (higher score = greater drooling severity) Metric: Cronbach's alpha (0-1; higher = better consistency) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Inter-rater reliability of secretion, drooling, and swallowing assessment scales | baseline | Inter-rater reliability of secretion, drooling, and swallowing assessment scales Scale titles: New Zealand Secretions Severity Scale (NZSS) Drooling Severity Scale (DSS) Visual Analysis of Swallowing efficiency and safety (VASES) Range: NZSS: 0-7 (higher = worse secretion severity) DSS: 1-5 (higher = worse drooling severity) VASES: - pharyngeal residue: 0-4 (higher = worse residue severity); PAS: 1-8 (higher = worse airway invasion severity) Metric: Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC, 0-1; higher = better reliability) |
Countries
Italy
Contacts
CONTACTSara Nordio
Outcome results
None listed