Table 1.

Description of the ordinal rating scales of the four visuoperceptual FEES variables

FEES variable	Definition	Rating scale
Piecemeal deglutition	Sequential swallowing on the same bolus	0 = one swallow 1 = two swallows 2 = three swallows 3 = four swallows 4 = five or more swallows
Postswallow vallecular pooling	Bolus retention in the valleculae after swallowing	0 = no pooling 1 = filling of less than 50 % of the valleculae 2 = filling of more than 50 % of the valleculae
Postswallow pyriform sinus pooling	Bolus retention in the pyriform sinuses after swallowing	0 = no pooling 1 = trace to moderate pooling 2 = severe pooling up to complete filling of the sinus
Laryngeal penetration/tracheal aspiration	Bolus in the laryngeal vestibule above or on the level of the vocal folds (laryngeal penetration) or bolus passes below the vocal folds (tracheal aspiration)	0 = no laryngeal penetration 1 = laryngeal penetration 2 = tracheal aspiration