Table 4.
Posterior distribution [mean (SD) and 95 % equal-tailed credibility interval (CI)] of the parameters of the Bayesian non-linear mixed model for intraobserver agreement
| Piecemeal deglutition | Postswallow vallecular pooling | Postswallow pyriform sinus pooling | Laryngeal penetration/tracheal aspiration | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean (SD) | 95 % CI | Mean (SD) | 95 % CI | Mean (SD) | 95 % CI | Mean (SD) | 95 % CI | |||||
| Intercept | 1.45 (0.39) | 0.81 | 2.24 | −0.39 (0.65) | −1.57 | 0.88 | 0.93 (0.42) | 0.24 | 1.95 | 0.75 (0.34) | 0.029 | 1.41 |
| Observera | 0.12 (0.19) | −0.16 | 0.63 | 1.19 (0.61) | 0.016 | 2.34 | −0.067 (0.36) | −0.85 | 0.60 | −0.056 (0.27) | −0.61 | 0.46 |
| Consistencyb | −0.14 (0.25) | −0.66 | 0.34 | 0.80 (0.61) | −0.43 | 1.93 | −0.39 (0.30) | −1.02 | 0.18 | 0.27 (0.30) | −0.27 | 0.86 |
| Groupc | −0.23 (0.26) | −0.83 | 0.23 | 0.053 (0.51) | −1.16 | 0.95 | 0.22 (0.45) | −0.71 | 1.02 | −0.15 (0.34) | −0.86 | 0.48 |
| σ 2 | 0.60 (0.60) | 0.0024 | 1.98 | 0.14 (0.24) | 0.00 | 0.79 | 0.14 (0.24) | 0.00 | 0.79 | 0.19 (0.17) | 0.00 | 0.59 |
To facilitate interpretation of the table, a more detailed description is given. Mean, SD, and 95 % CI are presented separately per FEES variable. When ‘0’ is not entailed in the 95 % CI, the difference between the predictors (observer 1 and observer 2, or thin and thick liquid consistency, or neurological and oncological group) is statistically significant. A positive mean indicates that the agreement of the predictor used as reference is lower. For instance, in the line ‘observer,’ the intraobserver agreement level between the two observers is compared. In the 95 % CI column for the variable postswallow vallecular pooling, ‘0’ is not entailed (0.016, 2.34). It means that a statistically significant difference was found in the intraobserver agreement level between the two observers when rating this variable. As observer 2 is used as a reference, a positive mean (1.19) indicates that intraobserver agreement for observer 2 was lower than that for observer 1 when rating postswallow vallecular pooling
SD standard deviation
The groups used as a reference are:
aObserver 2 for observer effect
bThick liquid for bolus consistency
cNeurological patients for the etiological group