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Correlation of Patient- and Physician-Scored Dysphagia with Videofluoroscopies in Patients Treated with Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between patient-scored dysphagia and physician-scored dysphagia in head and neck cancer patients treated with radiotherapy. Furthermore, we wanted to compare both patient- and physician-scored dysphagia with dysphagia evaluated on swallowing videofluoroscopies. Sixty-three patients from two different centers treated with radiotherapy for head and neck cancer were evaluated in the current study. Swallowing videofluoroscopies at baseline, 6, and 12 months following radiotherapy were evaluated by 2 observers using the Penetration Aspiration Scale (PAS) and Swallowing Performance Status Scale (SPS) and correlated with patient and physician scored dysphagia. We observed a significant association between physician and patient scored dysphagia (p < 0.01), pre-treatment and post-treatment. Furthermore, the risk of observing dysphagia on videofluoroscopies increased significantly with increasing scores of both physician as well as patient scored dysphagia, and this at all assessed time-points. Patient-scored dysphagia correlates better with dysphagia evaluated by the PAS. Physician-scored dysphagia, however, correlates better with dysphagia as evaluated using the SPS. Both physician- and patient-scored dysphagia correlate well with dysphagia evaluated on videofluoroscopies. Since patient-scored dysphagia correlates better with PAS and changes in the PAS score, and physician-scored dysphagia correlates better with SPS, we advocate to use both patient- and physician-scored dysphagia in future trials.

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Funding

This study was funded by Kom Op Tegen Kanker.

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Author notes

  1. D. Nevens and A. Goeleven have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, KU Leuven - University of Leuven, University Hospitals Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000, Louvain, Belgium

    D. Nevens & S. Nuyts

  2. Department of ENT – Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospitals Leuven, Swallowing Clinic, 3000, Louvain, Belgium

    A. Goeleven

  3. Department of Radiotherapy, Ghent University Hospital, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    F. Duprez & W. De Neve

  4. Leuven Biostatistics and Statistical Bioinformatics Centre, University of Leuven, 3000, Louvain, Belgium

    A. Laenen

  5. Department of Geriatric Medicine, University Hospitals, Leuven Swallowing Clinic, 3000, Louvain, Belgium

    E. Dejaeger

Authors
  1. D. Nevens
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  2. A. Goeleven
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  3. F. Duprez
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  4. A. Laenen
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  5. E. Dejaeger
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  6. W. De Neve
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  7. S. Nuyts
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Correspondence to D. Nevens.

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Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Nevens, D., Goeleven, A., Duprez, F. et al. Correlation of Patient- and Physician-Scored Dysphagia with Videofluoroscopies in Patients Treated with Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer. Dysphagia 33, 684–690 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-018-9888-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-018-9888-5

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