ABSTRACT

Objective : The purpose of this study was to analyze the swallowing function evaluation tools for stroke patients with dysphagia, and to help choose appropriate evaluation tools considering the patients and their clinical conditions. Methods : A systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA checklist. We accessed databases including PubMed, Medline, EBSCO host, and the National Assembly Library of Korea. The PEDro scale was used to evaluate the quality of the articles. Evaluation tools were divided into whether each tool requires an instrument or not. They were also classified according to the swallowing phase. Results : Thirty-two articles were included and analyzed in total. A total of 45 evaluation tools were found. Twenty of these tools were instrumental tools or evaluation tools based on an instrument. Thirteen of them essentially require a VFSS to evaluate the swallowing function. We found that most of the tools not depending on an instrument were for observing the oral preparatory or oral phase; however, some tools including GUSS(Gugging Swallowing Screen), EAT-10(Eating Assessment Tool), SSQ(Sydney Swallow Questionnaire), and a clinical assessment were used to detect problems in the pharyngeal or esophageal phases. Finally, ASHA(American Speech-language Hearing Association), DD(Degree of Dysphagia), DOSS(DOSS: Dysphagia Outcome and Severity Scale), DSR scale(Dysphagia Severity Rating), and FOIS(Functional Oral Intake Scale) were found useful for evaluating the nutritional condition, diet type, and degree of swallowing, although they could not be matched to the specific swallowing phase. Conclusion : This systematic review provides guidelines for choosing proper swallowing evaluation tools leading to customized treatment for stroke patients with dysphagia in the clinical field.