Development of the remote 100 ml water swallow test versus clinical assessment in patients with head and neck cancer: Do they agree?

Background: The 100 ml water swallow test (WST) is a validated swallow assessment used in head and neck cancer (HNC). We aimed to determine the level of agreement when completing the 100 ml WST via clinician-graded video-testing or patient self-testing compared to standard face-to-face assessment (FTF).

Methods: Convenience sampling from four UK centers.

Inclusion Criteria: patients with HNC treated with any modality prior to, or within 5 years of treatment. Participants were recruited to complete the 100 ml WST by video-testing or self-testing and compared with FTF.

Results: Sixty-three patients were recruited; 1 was unable to perform the task; 30 in video-testing; and 32 in self-testing. There was no difference in swallow capacity (p = 0.424) and volume (p = 0.363) for the video-testing or the self-testing swallow capacity (p = 0.777) and volume (p = 0.445).

Conclusions: This study demonstrates that video-testing and self-testing are reliable methods of completing the 100 ml WST for this sample of patients with HNC.