Table 2.
Distribution of answers to comprehensive gold standard questions on dysphagia and odynophagia
| Phase 1 (N = 178) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very much | Quite a bit | Somewhat | A little bit | Not at all | |
| “I have difficulty swallowing solid foods” | 26 (15%) | 25 (14%) | 28 (16%) | 31 (17%) | 68 (38%) |
| “I have difficulty swallowing soft or mashed foods” | 6 (3%) | 12 (7%) | 25 (14%) | 25 (14%) | 110 (62%) |
| “I have difficulty swallowing liquids” | 4 (2%) | 10 (6%) | 13 (7%) | 24 (13%) | 127 (71%) |
| “I choke when I swallow” | 2 (1%) | 7 (4%) | 16 (9%) | 26 (15%) | 127 (71%) |
| “I can swallow naturally and easily” | 61 (34%) | 40 (22%) | 33 (19%) | 25 (14%) | 19 (11%) |
| Phase 2 (N > 90)b | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very much | Quite a bit | Somewhat | A little bit | Not at all | |
| Severity of difficulty swallowinga | 3 (2%) | 8 (6%) | 45 (34%) | 36 (27%) | 42 (31%) |
| Difficulty upon swallowing – Solid food interference | 5 (4%) | 18 (15%) | 22 (18%) | 29 (24%) | 45 (38%) |
| Difficulty upon swallowing – Fluids interference | 2 (2%) | 5 (5%) | 5 (5%) | 29 (31%) | 53 (56%) |
| Severity of pain swallowinga | 1 (1%) | 8 (8%) | 14 (15%) | 16 (17%) | 57 (50%) |
| Pain upon swallowing – Solid food interference | 1 (1%) | 8 (9%) | 10 (11%) | 14 (15%) | 58 (64%) |
| Pain upon swallowing – Fluids interference | 0 (0%) | 6 (6%) | 3 (3%) | 16 (17%) | 69 (73%) |
a
For these questions on severity, the category levels (from left to right) are severe, very severe, moderate, mild, none.
b
Because not all patients were required to complete every component of phase 2, the sample size for each specific question ranged from 91 through 134 patients. Shaded boxes refer to the answer associated with lack of symptoms.