Grant: Operating Grant

Swallowing disorders (dysphagia) are common in adult patients. There is emerging evidence that dysphagia itself can cause adverse medical outcomes. There is a three-fold increased risk for pneumonia in these patients versus similar patients without dysphagia. Patients with dysphagia also suffer poor nutrition and dehydration. Patients can become so malnourished that it slows their recovery. Dysphagia can cause choking when food or liquid enters the lungs. Over time, this will cause pneumonia and even death. More acutely, patients fear that their choking will cause them to suffocate and die. Over time, patients are embarrassed to be seen choking and thus feel forced to dine alone. These patients report feelings of isolation and depression. To date, there are no practical methods to assess these adverse outcomes of swallowing difficulties in patients. This research will be the first to address this gap. Specifically, as part of previous research (PhD dissertation by RM, the PI) a new measure of medical outcomes of dysphagia was developed, titled the Medical Outcomes of Dysphagia (MOD) scale. The MOD consists of 3 subscales that each measure lung, nutrition-hydration or psychological consequences in patients with swallowing difficulties. Unlike more expensive and complex tests, the MOD has been designed for both in- and outpatients. This research will validate each MOD subscale to ensure retention of only items that are reliable and valid for use with patients who have dysphagia due to stroke, cervical spine abnormalities or head and neck cancer. The final MOD subscales will be the first to allow clinicians to track medical complications in their patients and to ensure that treatment is effective. Globally, the MOD subscales will direct limited health care resources to the most effective treatments for swallowing disorders.