• Amyotroph. Lateral Scler. Other Motor Neuron Disord. · Sep 2004

    Comparative Study

    Oropharyngeal dysphagia in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: neurological and dysphagia specific rating scales.

    • Deirdre Kidney, Michael Alexander, Bernie Corr, Orna O'toole, and Orla Hardiman.
    • Department of Speech and Language Therapy, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. deidrekidney@hotmail.com
    • Amyotroph. Lateral Scler. Other Motor Neuron Disord. 2004 Sep 1; 5 (3): 150-3.

    BackgroundOropharyngeal dysphagia is highly prevalent in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Patients with dysphagia and weight loss are frequently offered gastrostomy. Although the neurological basis of dysphagia in ALS is complex, there are currently no specifically validated scales for dysphagia in ALS, and the reliability of existing generic scales has not been assessed.MethodsWe undertook a prospective study of 25 patients who fulfilled the criteria for definite or probable ALS. We examined the reliability of the Dysphagia Outcome Severity Scale (DOSS) and the Aspiration-Penetration Rating Scale (APRS) and the correlation between these scales and the Norris ALS Scale and ALS Functional Rating Scale-R (ALS FRS-R).ResultsUsing the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation, an expected high linear association between the two disease specific neurological scales was demonstrated. Both dysphagia scales were found to be reliable. Interrelationship evaluation showed a low association between Norris and ALS FRS-R scores and DOSS and APRS. However, examination found specific subsections to be significantly correlated, particularly the Norris bulbar sections (NBS) and the DOSS.ConclusionsGeneric dysphagia scales are reliable indicators of dysphagia in ALS. The bulbar components of the ALS specific scales is sensitive to dysphagia. The bulbar section of the Norris scale can be utilised as an independent and reliable indicator of the severity of dysphagia in ALS. In the absence of availability of detailed swallowing assessment using videofluoroscopy, these scales, i.e., the Norris and to a lesser degree the ALS FRS-R bulbar sections, are adequate to diagnose and follow clinically significant dysphagia in ALS, and can be used as an indicator for dysphagia treatment initiation.

      Pubmed     Copy Citation     Plaintext  

      Add institutional full text...

    Notes

     
    Knowledge, pearl, summary or comment to share?
    300 characters remaining
    help        
    You can also include formatting, links, images and footnotes in your notes
    • Simple formatting can be added to notes, such as *italics*, _underline_ or **bold**.
    • Superscript can be denoted by <sup>text</sup> and subscript <sub>text</sub>.
    • Numbered or bulleted lists can be created using either numbered lines 1. 2. 3., hyphens - or asterisks *.
    • Links can be included with: [my link to pubmed](http://pubmed.com)
    • Images can be included with: ![alt text](https://bestmedicaljournal.com/study_graph.jpg "Image Title Text")
    • For footnotes use [^1](This is a footnote.) inline.
    • Or use an inline reference [^1] to refer to a longer footnote elseweher in the document [^1]: This is a long footnote..

    hide…