Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 8, 2026
Assessment and Evaluation of the High Risk Neonate: The NICU Network Neurobehavioral Scale
Published on: August 25, 2014
Preliminary psychometric performance of the Neonatal Feeding Assessment Scale
Mari Viviers1, Alta Kritzinger, Bart Vinck
1Department of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, University of Pretoria. marimviviers@gmail.com.
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.
Conclusion:
The preliminary performance of the scale appears to be promising. A further validation study will take place.
