German Translation and Validation of the Barnes-Jewish-Hospital Stroke Dysphagia Screen (BJH-SDS)

Stroke is now the second most common cause of death worldwide. Dysphagia is described as a direct consequence of cerebral infarction in at least 50% of stroke patients in the acute phase [2]. It often leads to aspiration pneumonia, which is the most important secondary complication in stroke unit. Within one year after a stroke, around 20% of dysphagia patients die as a result of aspiration pneumonia . In addition, dysphagia causes numerous other secondary complications (malnutrition, exsiccosis) and associated high costs for the healthcare system.

Numerous screening procedures have been developed in recent years. These are mostly based on a swallowing test with water after testing various input requirements. There are also multi-consistency tests that include liquids as well as pulpy and solid consistencies. The sensitivity of the tests is usually at least 85% with moderate specificity, which is due to the inability to detect silent aspiration by non-instrumental diagnostics. In addition, the implementation of the screening procedures is usually only evaluated by the professional group of speech therapists.

One of these screening procedures is the Barnes-Jewish-Hospital Stroke Dysphagia Screen (BJH-SDS). In our opinion, this test is very well suited as a screening procedure, as it has good sensitivity (94%) and specificity (64%), is validated for all professional groups and takes little time. In brief, it includes an assessment of sufficient consciousness (Glasgow Coma Scale over 13 points), a check for facial paresis, soft palate paresis and tongue paresis followed by a water swallow test with 90 ml of water if the previous points are assessed as normal. The water swallow test checks for signs of aspiration (throat clearing, coughing or a change in voice quality) However, the BJH-SDS is not yet available in German. The aim of this research project is therefore to translate the BJH-SDS into German (BJH-SDS-G) and validate it as the gold standard using flexible endoscopic swallowing examination (FEES) and then use it routinely in our clinics. This will be followed by validation in general neurological patients (without stroke) so that the BJH-SDS can also be used reliably in this patient population.