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Clinical Validity of the SWAL-QOL and SWAL-CARE Outcome Tools with Respect to Bolus Flow Measures

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An Erratum to this article was published on 12 September 2008

An Erratum to this article was published on 12 September 2008

Abstract

The aim of this study was to quantify the association between a dysphagia-specific quality of life (SWAL-QOL) and quality of care (SWAL-CARE) questionnaire and four measures of bolus flow. Three hundred eighty-six people with oropharyngeal dysphagia completed a videofluoroscopic examination of their swallowing structure and physiology. They also completed the SWAL-QOL and SWAL-CARE surveys. Measures of bolus flow patterns for each swallow were analyzed from videofluoroscopic recordings and correlated with the SWAL-QOL and SWAL-CARE scale scores. The SWAL-QOL and SWAL-CARE scales were modestly related to the four measures of the bolus flow. The SWAL-QOL and SWAL-CARE were most related to measures of oral transit duration and total swallow duration. The SWAL-QOL and SWAL-CARE scales were least related to pharyngeal transit duration. Results were stronger for semisolid trials than for liquid trials. Results were generally weak for the Penetration Aspiration Scale. For all of the significant relationships, the greater the bolus flow severity, the worse the quality of life. The observed modest correlations suggest that patient-centered quality-of-life measures and clinician-driven bolus flow measures provide distinct yet complementary information about oropharyngeal dysphagia. Both sets of measures should be used in dysphagia effectiveness and outcomes research.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge Jody McIntyre, Amy Kramer, and Kevin Lomax, Ph.D., for their contributions to the SWAL-QOL project.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Merck & Co., Inc., West Point, PA, USA

    Colleen A. McHorney PhD

  2. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, MUSC Evelyn Trammell Institute for Voice and Swallowing, and College of Health Professions, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina, USA

    Bonnie Martin-Harris PhD

  3. William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital and University of Wisconsin-Madison Medical School, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    JoAnne Robbins PhD

  4. Department of Communicative Disorders, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA

    John Rosenbek PhD

  5. Department of Neurology, University of Florida School of Medicine, Gainesville, Florida, USA

    John Rosenbek PhD

  6. Merck Co., Inc., WP39-166, 770 Sumneytown Pike, West Point, PA, 19486, USA

    Colleen A. McHorney PhD

Authors
  1. Colleen A. McHorney PhD
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  2. Bonnie Martin-Harris PhD
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  3. JoAnne Robbins PhD
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  4. John Rosenbek PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Colleen A. McHorney PhD.

Additional information

This work was originally performed at the Roudebush Veterans Administration Medical Center and the Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN.

Supported in part by R01 AG022067, Department of Veterans Affairs RR&D C-2488-R, and Department of Veterans Affairs RCS 02-066-1 to Dr. McHorney.

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00455-007-9140-1

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McHorney, C.A., Martin-Harris, B., Robbins, J. et al. Clinical Validity of the SWAL-QOL and SWAL-CARE Outcome Tools with Respect to Bolus Flow Measures. Dysphagia 21, 141–148 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-005-0026-9

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