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Updated: Feb 16, 2026
Adapting Human Videofluoroscopic Swallow Study Methods to Detect and Characterize Dysphagia in Murine Disease Models
Published on: March 1, 2015
[Functional endoscopic evaluation of swallowing in infants with deglutition disorders]
I Partida-Justo1, J E Israel Grijalva-Otero2, J L Ramírez-Figueroa3
1Hospital General Regional N° 2 con Unidad Médica de atención ambulatoria.
Insights
Functional endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) accurately diagnoses infant deglutition disorders (DD) compared to videofluoroscopy. FEES demonstrates high sensitivity and specificity for aspiration, penetration, and gastroesophageal reflux in infants.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Otolaryngology
- Speech-Language Pathology
Background:
- Deglutition disorders (DD) in infants present diagnostic challenges.
- Functional endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) shows promise but requires validation in pediatric populations.
- Videofluoroscopy (VF) is the current gold standard for evaluating infant swallowing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the diagnostic accuracy of FEES with VF in infants suspected of having DD.
- To establish FEES as a reliable tool for pediatric dysphagia assessment.
Main Methods:
- A comparative study involving 66 infants with suspected DD.
- FEES and VF were performed on all participants.
- Sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and likelihood ratios were calculated for FEES findings.
Main Results:
- FEES demonstrated high sensitivity (98%) for aspiration and penetration.
- FEES showed high specificity (94-95%) for spillage and waste.
- Agreement between FEES and VF for spill and penetration was substantial (0.81).
Conclusions:
- FEES is a sensitive (80.8%) and specific (85.3%) tool for diagnosing infant DD.
- FEES shows good concordance (kappa=0.815) with VF for identifying suction abnormalities.
- FEES offers a viable alternative for evaluating pediatric dysphagia.
Background:
Functional endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) is a recognized method for Deglutition Disorders (DD) in adults, with anecdotal experience in children, obtaining not conclusive results.
Objective:
To compare the accuracy of test FEES in infants with high suspicion of altered DD seen in a third level hospital with the gold standard Videofluoroscopic (VF).
Patients, Material And Methods:
The results and findings by FEES and VF of 66 children with clinical diagnosis of DD were compared.
Statistical Analysis:
An estimate of the sensitivity and specificity of FEES was performed. As well as calculating positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and likelihood ratios.
Results:
60 patients enrolled, 4 and FEES showed high sensitivity to identify the presence of aspiration and penetration (9 98%) and high specificity for the arrest of spillage and waste (94% and 95%). Gastroesophageal reflux to make the diagnosis of DD with FEES had a sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 84%. Spill and penetration had the highest agreement with respect to the gold standard of 0.81.
Conclusions:
FEES in infants diagnosed with DD had a sensitivity of 80.8% and specificity 85.3%. 0696 concordance regarding to the VFD in the diagnosis of DD, and to identify suction stroke had a kappa of 0815.
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