Article

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Mann
Assessment of Swallowing Ability (MASA) to predict the results of
videofluoroscopic swallowing studies. METHOD: Children with cerebral palsy with
suspicion of aspiration were enrolled. The Functional Dysphagia Scale (FDS) was
used to quantify the swallowing dysfunction in videofluoroscopic swallowing
studies. Correlation between MASA and FDS scores and differences in these two
scores between aspirators and nonaspirators and between silent and overt
aspirators were analyzed. RESULTS: Sixteen patients, level IV or V according the
Gross Motor Function Classification System, were included. Thirteen patients
(81.3%) had aspiration, and 9 (69.2%) were silent aspirators. The MASA scores
between aspirators and nonaspirators were not different (median values of total
scores, 107.0 and 94.0). The aspirators had higher FDS pharyngeal subtotal scores
(P = 0.024) and slightly higher total FDS scores (P = 0.059). The differences in
these two scales between silent and overt aspirators were not significant.
Correlation coefficients between oral phase subtotal FDS scores and MASA subtotal
scores in oral preparation, oral phase, and oral phase total were -0.713 (P <
0.05), -0.428 (P = 0.098), and -0.665 (P < 0.05), respectively. No correlation
was found between the pharyngeal subtotal scores in these two scales. CONCLUSION:
MASA was not useful in differentiating aspirators and nonaspirators and between
silent and overt aspirators in severely disabled cerebral palsy, but it could
predict oral dysfunction in videofluoroscopic swallowing studies.

Langue : ANGLAIS