The Boston Residue and Clearance Scale: preliminary reliability and validity testing.

Background: There is no appropriately validated scale with which to rate the problem of residue after swallowing. The Boston Residue and Clearance Scale (BRACS) was developed to meet this need. Initial reliability and validity were assessed.

Methods: BRACS is an 11-point ordinal residue rating scale scoring three aspects of residue during a fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES): (1) the amount and location of residue, (2) the presence of spontaneous clearing swallows, and (3) the effectiveness of clearing swallows. To determine inter-rater and test-retest reliability, 63 swallows from previously recorded FEES procedures were scored twice by 4 raters using (1) clinical judgment (none, mild, mild-moderate, moderate, moderate-severe, severe) and (2) BRACS. Concurrent validity was tested by correlating clinical judgment scores with BRACS scores. Internal consistency of the items in BRACS was examined. A factor analysis was performed to identify important factors that suggest grouping within the 12 location items in BRACS.

Results: BRACS showed excellent inter-rater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient, ICC = 0.81), test-retest reliability (ICC: 0.82-0.92), high concurrent validity (Pearson's r = 0.76), and high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.86). Factor analysis revealed 3 main latent factors for the 12 location items.

Conclusion: BRACS is a valid and reliable tool that can rate the severity of residue.