Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10) Scores to Detect Self-Reported Dysphagia in Brazilians

Reliability and Validity of the Chinese Mandarin Version of the 10-Item Eating Assessment Tool in Community-Dwelling Older Adults

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to culturally adapt and validate the Chinese Mandarin version of the 10-Item Eating Assessment Tool (EAT-10-CM) for Chinese community-dwelling older adults.

METHOD

A total of 346 Chinese community-dwelling older adults participated in this study, with 47 individuals included in the second testing phase. Reliability was assessed through internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Validity analysis covered several aspects: instrument validity, convergent validity, concurrent validity, content validity, and discriminant validity. Instrument validity was assessed by comparing EAT-10-CM scores between participants with and without oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD). Convergent validity was evaluated by comparing the EAT-10-CM with the Dysphagia Handicap Index (DHI). Concurrent validity was assessed by comparing the EAT-10-CM with the Penetration-Aspiration Scale. Content validity was examined using the content validity index, based on the input of 10 expert reviewers. Discriminant validity was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis to determine the optimal cutoff value.

RESULTS

The Cronbach's alpha for the total scale and individual items was > 0.9, indicating excellent internal consistency. Test-retest reliability was assessed using Pearson's correlation analysis, which showed a strong correlation (r > .7), demonstrating good stability over time. Significant differences in EAT-10-CM scores were observed between participants with OD and healthy individuals, supporting the instrument's ability to differentiate between these groups. The EAT-10-CM showed significant correlations with the DHI and the Penetration-Aspiration Scale (p < .001). The content validity index was 0.95 for the scale and ≥ 0.8 for each item. ROC analysis determined an optimal cutoff value of 3.00, with corresponding sensitivity and specificity values of 0.865 and 0.940, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The EAT-10-CM is a culturally adapted and validated instrument specifically for Chinese older adults with good reliability and validity. The optimal cutoff value of 3.00 provides a useful threshold for clinical assessment.

Improved health outcomes of nasopharyngeal carcinoma patients 3 years after treatment by the AI-assisted home enteral nutrition management

Objectives

Patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) are prone to malnutrition, which leads to deterioration of health. This study is to clarify the effect of Artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted home enteral nutrition (HEN) management mode on the health status of patients with stage III to stage IV NPC after 3 years of treatment, and to provide a new strategy for improving the quality of life of patients.

Methods

Patients with stage III ~ IV NPC were determined whether to accept AI-assisted HEN management according to voluntary principle. After 3 years of management, the survival rate, distant metastasis rate and local recurrence rate were counted, and the basic body quality, laboratory detection, eating difficulty score, mental health score and other examinations were performed on the surviving patients to evaluate the overall health status.

Results

The three-year survival rate of patients with NPC who received AI-assisted HEN management after treatment was improved. Various tests showed that AI-assisted HEN improved the nutritional intake of patients, had a low positive rate of Epstein-Barr virus, reduced adverse reactions such as psychological stress and physical pain, and could improve the quality of life of patients.

Conclusion

AI-assisted HEN has a positive auxiliary effect on clinical treatment, which is helpful to promote the recovery of patients with NPC.

Clinical trial registration

NCT06603909.

Tongue Acupuncture to Treat Dysphagia in Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic degenerative disease that lacks specific treatment. The incidence of dysphagia in patients with PD is 35%-82%. Dysphagia not only affects nutritional intake but also leads to pneumonia, even asphyxia. This study explored the efficacy of tongue acupuncture for treating dysphagia in patients with PD.

Materials and Methods

From March 2021 to June 2023, 64 patients with PD-related dysphagia were chosen from Qingdao Central Hospital and the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao Binhai University, both in Qindao, Shandong, China. The patients were divided into a tongue acupuncture group (n = 32) and a control group (n = 32). The control group was treated with a VitalStim® 5900 Swallowing Disorder Therapeutic Instrument (CA, USA), and the tongue acupuncture group had tongue acupuncture at Juquan (Ex-HN-10) and Haiquan (Ex-HN-11). Swallowing function and nutritional conditions were compared between the 2 groups after all treatments.

Results

The total clinical effective rate in the tongue acupuncture group was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). The proportion of grade 1 and grade 2 of the 5-scaled Kubota drinking-water test in the tongue acupuncture group was significantly higher than that in the control group (78.13 % versus 31.26 %; P < 0.05), and the proportion of grade 3, grade 4, and grade 5 was significantly lower than that in the control group (21.87 % versus 68.74 %; P < 0.05). After tongue acupuncture, levels of body mass index, upper-arm circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, hemoglobin, serum albumin, and prealbumin were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05) and the incidence of complications caused by PD was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

Treatment of dysphagia in PD by tongue acupuncture significantly improved swallowing function and nutritional level, and decreased the incidence of complications.

VIDEOFLUOROSCOPIC EVALUATION OF THE IMPACT OF CAPSULE SIZE AND SUBJECT'S AGE AND GENDER ON CAPSULE SWALLOWING

BACKGROUND

People recurrently have difficulties swallowing solid medications, which can be associated with the size of the medication and the age and gender of individuals.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the impact of capsule size and adults' age and gender on oral and pharyngeal capsule transit during capsule swallows.

METHODS

Videofluoroscopy was used to measure capsule oral and pharyngeal transit during swallows in 49 healthy individuals (17 men and 32 women), with a mean age of 46 years (ranging from 23 to 88 years). Smaller capsules were filled with 0.50 mL of barium sulfate, and larger capsules were filled with 0.95 mL of barium sulfate; the volume of liquid ingested with the capsules was also quantified in each ingestion. The measurements included the oral preparation time, oral transit time, swallowing reaction time, time to laryngeal vestibule closure, laryngeal vestibule closure duration, pharyngeal transit time, and upper esophageal sphincter opening duration.

RESULTS

The capsule size did not influence either the oral or pharyngeal transit time. Increased liquid volume was ingested with larger capsules and by people older than 40 years. The oral transit time was shorter in older adults (60-88 years), and the time to laryngeal vestibule closure was longer in women.

CONCLUSION

The size of large capsules did not make a difference in oral or pharyngeal transit when compared with smaller capsules. The capsule size and the participant's age influenced the volume of liquid ingested - larger capsules and older individuals required a larger volume. The capsule oral transit was faster in individuals older than 60 years.

BACKGROUND

•Swallowing is influenced by the characteristics of what is being swallowed.

BACKGROUND

•There was no difference in swallowing capsules containing 0.50 mL or 0.95 mL.

BACKGROUND

•Larger capsules need more liquid ingestion to make swallowing easier.

BACKGROUND

•Individuals older than 40 years need a greater volume of liquid to swallow capsules than younger adults.