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‘DYSPHAGIA SEVERITY SCORE’ SYSTEM: CLINICAL OUTCOMES IN PAEDIATRIC DYSPHAGIA
Author(s) -
Dick Julie
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
international journal of language and communication disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.101
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1460-6984
pISSN - 1368-2822
DOI - 10.3109/13682829809179434
Subject(s) - dysphagia , intervention (counseling) , physical therapy , medicine , surgery , psychiatry
Clinical evaluation and analysis of therapeutic intervention, by means of a user‐friendly outcome measure system, is essential in the management of a paediatric dysphagia caseload. The objective of this study was to design a Dysphagia Severity Score (DSS) system and to evaluate its usefulness in profiling dysphagia outcomes. Clinical outcome data, based on ten clinical parameters describing dysphagic status pre‐ and post‐ intervention, were collated for 23 concurrent cases and recorded on a data base. Results indicate that all subjects scored an improvement in DSS percentage post‐intervention, with an average improvement of 21%. Dysphagia Severity Score profiles are presented for two patients and the limitations and applications are discussed.