I am interested to hear the views of researchers and clinicians working in Dysphagia - What does good swallowing function look like? What is our current best outcome measure for this?
Nowadays quality of life (QOL) measurements are considered one of the best ways to assess the patient's clinical condition. In the head and neck population with swallowing impairment the more frequently used tool is the M. D. Anderson dysphagia inventory developed by Chen AY et al.
Regards
An instrumental assessment like Videofluoroscopy Swallow Study (VFSS) can give us accurate diagnosis of various factors like affected swallow phases, physiological alterations, presence of penetration/aspiration and also aid as a therapeutic tool in assessing efficacy of planned therapy.
A combination of QoL measures such as the MDADI mentioned above and a standardized assessment of an instrumental swallowing evaluation such as the MBSImPTM(C) provide information about the physiology of the swallowing mechanism as well as the functional status related to swallowing. In the HNC population, the burden of eating must be taken into account with measures such as QoL indices. Additionally, fibrosis and associated swallowing effects can occur over years so it is critical to have consistent ways of tracking changes over time.
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