Preliminary psychometric performance of the Neonatal Feeding Assessment Scale.
OBJECTIVE
The objective was to determine the preliminary psychometric performance of a new clinical feeding scale to diagnose oropharyngeal dysphagia (OPD) in neonates.


METHODS
Twenty neonates with a median gestational age of 35 weeks were evaluated using the Neonatal Feeding Assessment Scale (NFAS) and modified barium swallow studies (MBSS). The results were compared.


RESULTS
Nine of the 20 participants presented with OPD on the NFAS. Comparison of the scale's results with instrumental MBSS indicated that all participants without OPD were correctly excluded (100% sensitivity). The specificity was 78.6%, indicating that three participants were falsely identified with OPD on the scale. Inter-rater reliability was determined on 50% (n = 10) of the sample. Substantial agreement (80%) was obtained between two raters in five of the six sections of the scale and on the diagnostic outcome.


CONCLUSIONS
The preliminary performance of the scale appears to be promising. A further validation study will take place.
Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria. marimviviers@gmail.com.
Mari
M
Viviers
Alta
A
Kritzinger
Bart
B
Vinck
Marien
M
Graham
D001903:Bottle Feeding; D001942:Breast Feeding; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D003679:Deglutition; D003680:Deglutition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D018730:Infant Behavior; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015997:Neonatal Screening; D015588:Observer Variation; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D000074286:Preliminary Data; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013066:Speech-Language Pathology / Q000379:methods*; D013391:Sucking Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires