Validation and Cultural Adaptation of an Arabic Version of Pediatric Eating Assessment Tool (Pedi-EAT-10_Arabic)

Pediatric eating assessment tool (Pedi-EAT-10_Arabic) is a validated and reliable caregiver administered outcome instrument designed for detection of children at high risk of penetration/aspiration. The objective of this study is to translate and validate the Arabic version of Pedi-EAT-10 and to correlate its results with pharyngeal residue and aspiration on fiber optic endoscopic examination of swallowing (FEES). A cross-sectional study including 202 children selected randomly from those attending the swallowing clinic in phoniatrics unit, Otorhinolaryngology department (ORL) at main university hospital between February 2019 and October 2020 complaining of dysphagia. For test–retest reliability, one hundred caregivers refilled the Pedi-EAT-10_Arabic after a 2-week period following their first visit. Validity was established by comparing the scores of dysphagia patients to healthy controls. Internal consistency of Pedi-EAT-10_Arabic was high (Cronbach's alpha 0.986). Intra class correlation showed excellent test–retest reliability (r = 0.968). The median Pedi-EAT 10_Arabic score was significantly higher in dysphagia group compared to healthy controls. (Median 27 IQR 21–34 for cases compared to median zero IQR 0–2 points for healthy controls, P less than 0.001). A strong correlation was found between Pedi-EAT 10_Arabic scores and PAS scores with Spearman's correlation coefficient r = 0.803 and P < 0.001. The ROC for evaluating the discriminatory capacity of Pedi-EAT 10 for aspiration showed an AUC of 0.92 (95% CI of 0.89 to 0.96)_. Conclusion: Pedi-EAT 10_Arabic was found to be a valid and reliable screening tool for further instrumental assessment of risk of dysphagia in pediatric population.