Objective To investigate the clinical application of flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing in diagnosing penetration and aspiration in patients with dysphagia. Methods From January to December 2022, 102 patients with dysphagia who were hospitalized in Shanghai Ruijin Rehabilitation Hospital and underwent both video fluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) and fiberoptic endoscopic examination of swallowing (FEES) . Videos were observed of patients swallowing three types of boluses: 5 mL of liquid, nectar-like consistency, and pudding-like consistency, to grade penetration and aspiration using the penetration-aspiration scale. The detection rates of penetration and aspiration by FEES were compared with those of the gold standard VFSS. The kappa statistic was used to assess the agreement between FEES and VFSS in diagnosing leakage and aspiration. Additionally, a further analysis was conducted on the consistency of the two methods in assessing penetration and aspiration in patients with central nervous system diseases. Results The detection rates of penetration and aspiration for 5 mL liquid, nectar-like, and pudding-like boluses diagnosed by FEES were essentially consistent with those of VFSS (P=0.807, 0.199, 0.513, 0.350, 0.978, 0.308). The kappa value for diagnosing penetration and aspiration of 5 mL liquid, nectar-like, and pudding-like boluses by the two methods was 0.758, 0.784, 0.920, 0.790, 0.961, 0.882 respectively (all P<0.05) as determined by the Kappa consistency test. In dysphagia caused by central nervous system diseases, the detection rates of penetration and aspiration for 5 mL liquid, nectar-like, and pudding-like boluses diagnosed by FEES were essentially consistent with those of VFSS (P=0.883, 0.564, 0.884, 0.291, 0.473, 0.886). The kappa value for diagnosing penetration and aspiration of 5 mL liquid, nectar-like, and pudding-like boluses by FEES and VFSS was 0.806, 0.917, 0.979, 0.751, 0.897, 0.979 respectively (all P<0.05). Conclusion FEES demonstrates good consistency with the gold standard VFSS in diagnosing penetration and aspiration of 5ml liquid, nectar, and pudding-like food boluses. |