Purpose: This study aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Sydney Swallow Questionnaire (SSQ-T) and calculate a cutoff value to help clinicians to suspect/predict oropharyngeal dysphagia (OPD).
Method: The original questionnaire was translated into Turkish by two bilingual English Turkish translators. The study included 170 Turkish adult subjects. Half of the participants were patients presenting with OPD, and half were healthy controls. Fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) was administered to all subjects. Patients were evaluated using the Turkish Penetration Aspiration Scale and the Yale Pharyngeal Residue Severity Rating Scale. Additionally, the final version of the SSQ-T questionnaire and the Turkish Eating Assessment Tool were administered to all subjects.
Results: Internal consistency was high on all questions (Cronbach's α = .974). Test-retest reliability was also high (intraclass correlation coefficient = .975, p < .001; 95% confidence interval [.948-.988]). The SSQ-T score range was 0-1,240 for all participants, 57-1,240 for the patients with OPD, and 0-152 for the healthy controls. The cutoff value was 174 with 85.96% sensitivity and 99.12% specificity.
Conclusion: The SSQ-T was demonstrated to be a valid and reliable assessment to assess the self-perceived severity of OPD.