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Translation and Validation of “Brief Bedside Dysphagia Screening Test” in a Greek Sample of Neurological Patients

Dysphagia may become a threatening condition if not diagnosed and treated at an early stage. Healthcare professionals require simple, rapid, and reliable tools for the immediate evaluation of dysphagia in their daily clinical practice. The aim of the present study was the translation and validation of the “Brief Bedside Dysphagia Screening Test-Revised (BBDST-R)” tool in the Greek language in a sample of patients with neurological disorders. The present study was designed as a cross-sectional study conducted with a convenience sample of 80 patients. The BBDST-R tool contains eight items, and a positive response to an item implies that the patient might have dysphagia. The bedside assessment using the BBDST-R tool was conducted by a researcher previously trained for the tool usage. The translation and validation were conducted by following the relevant international standards. The researcher’s final assessment concerning the presence or absence of dysphagia was compared to the medical diagnosis as determined by a physician, which was set as a benchmark. The evaluation of BBDST-R was conducted by researching its diagnostic accuracy according to the guidelines for measures of diagnostic accuracy. Internal consistency was determined through Cronbach’s Alpha. The English version of the BBDST-R tool has been reliably translated into the Greek language. The prevalence of dysphagia in our sample was 62.5% (95% CI: 50%-72%). The observed high sensitivity [Sen = 98%/87%-99% (95% CI)] and high negative predictive value [NPV = 89%/77%-95% (95% CI)] indicated high validity of the screening tool at the acceptable levels of > 75% even for 95% CI. Cronbach’s Alpha internal consistency index for the 8 items of this tool presented an almost excellent value of 0.859. The results of the present study indicated that BBDST-R is a reliable and valid tool for application in the assessment of dysphagia in patients admitted in Greek hospitals and community-based individuals.