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01-04-2022 | Foreign Body Aspiration | Original Article

Scoring the Penetration–Aspiration Scale (PAS) in Two Conditions: A Reliability Study

Authors: Munirah Alkhuwaiter, Kate Davidson, Theresa Hopkins-Rossabi, Bonnie Martin-Harris

Published in: Dysphagia | Issue 2/2022

Abstract

A widely applied metric for identifying airway invasion events is the Penetration–Aspiration Scale (PAS). PAS scores are often included as primary outcome measures in clinical interventional studies, applied to characterize airway protection in a particular disease, used to establish a normal referent for control group comparisons without dysphagia, and as determinants or predictors of clinical outcomes. Despite the widespread use of the PAS, there is variability in scoring condition. One common method used in research studies includes rater scores applied to each single swallow that occurred during a modified barium swallow study (MBSS) of the same patient. A second common method includes raters scoring single swallow segments that have been spliced from full MBSS from different patients. These single swallow segments are then randomly distributed and the rater is blinded to all swallows that occurred during that patient MBSS. The potential effects of different scoring conditions on rater reliability and score accuracy have not been studied and may have high relevance for the conclusion drawn from the result. The primary aim of this investigation is to determine the impact of two scoring conditions on rater reliability and score accuracy: 1. Contextual, unblinded scoring condition and 2. Randomized, blinded condition. Results of the present study show that no statistically significant differences in PAS rater reliability and score accuracy were found between the two scoring conditions. If findings from this pilot study are reproduced in larger sample sizes, the time and intensity involved in splicing and randomizing MBSS for scoring may not be necessary.

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Title: Scoring the Penetration–Aspiration Scale (PAS) in Two Conditions: A Reliability Study
Authors: Munirah Alkhuwaiter
Kate Davidson
Theresa Hopkins-Rossabi
Bonnie Martin-Harris
Publication date: 01-04-2022
Publisher: Springer US
Keywords: Foreign Body Aspiration
Foreign Body Aspiration
Aspiration
Published in: Dysphagia / Issue 2/2022
Print ISSN: 0179-051X
Electronic ISSN: 1432-0460
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00455-021-10292-6

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Scoring the Penetration–Aspiration Scale (PAS) in Two Conditions: A Reliability Study

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

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