Table 2. Longitudinal MBS Dysphagia Grade (per DIGEST) by Primary Treatment Group .
| DIGEST Score | No. (%) of Patients (95% CI) | Cramer V (95% CI)a | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary TORS Group (n = 75) | Primary Radiotherapy Group (n = 182) | ||
| Baseline | |||
| Grade 0 | 53 (70.7) [59.0 to 80.6] | 147 (80.8) [74.3 to 86.2] | 0.15 (0.03 to 0.26) |
| Grade 1 (mild) | 16 (21.3) [12.7 to 32.3] | 28 (15.4) [10.5 to 21.5] | |
| Grade 2 (moderate) | 3 (4.0) [0.8 to 11.30] | 1 (0.6) [0.0 to 3.0] | |
| Grade 3 (severe) | 0 | 0 | |
| Missing | 3 (4.0) [0.0 to 8.4] | 6 (3.3) [1.2 to 7.0] | |
| Prevalence DIGEST grade ≥2 | 3 (4.0) [0.8 to 11.3] | 1 (0.6) [0.0 to 3.0] | 0.13 (−0.04 to 0.24) |
| After TORS | |||
| Grade 0 | 16 (21.3) [12.7 to 32.3] | NA | NA |
| Grade 1 (mild) | 16 (21.3) [12.7 to 32.3] | NA | NA |
| Grade 2 (moderate) | 11 (14.7) [7.6 to 24.7] | NA | NA |
| Grade 3 (severe) | 6 (8.0) [3.0 to 16.6] | NA | NA |
| Missing | 26 (34.7) [24.0 to 46.5] | NA | NA |
| Prevalence DIGEST grade ≥2 | 17 (22.7) [13.8 to 33.8] | NA | NA |
| At 3-6 mo | |||
| Grade 0 | 25 (33.3) [22.9 to 45.2] | 72 (39.6) [32.4 to 47.1] | 0.18 (0.06 to 0.28) |
| Grade 1 (mild) | 29 (38.7) [27.6 to 50.6] | 47 (25.8) [19.6 to 32.8] | |
| Grade 2 (moderate) | 4 (5.3) [1.5 to 13.1] | 23 (12.6) [8.2 to 18.4] | |
| Grade 3 (severe) | 1 (1.3) [0.0 to 7.2] | 6 (3.3) [1.2 to 7.0] | |
| Missing | 16 (21.3) [12.7 to 32.3] | 34 (18.7) [13.3 to 25.1] | |
| Prevalence DIGEST grade ≥2 | 5 (6.7) [2.2 to 14.9] | 29 (15.9) [10.9 to 22.1] | −0.14 (−0.23 to −0.01) |
| 3- to 6-mo Prevalence DIGEST grade ≥2 by treatment combination | |||
| TORS alone (n = 38) | 0 [0 to 0.09] | NA | NA |
| TORS and radiotherapy (n = 22) | 3 (13.6) [2.9 to 34.9] | NA | NA |
| TORS and chemoradiotherapy (n = 15) | 2 (13.3) [1.7 to 40.5] | NA | NA |
| Radiotherapy alone (n = 30) | NA | 4 (13.3) [3.8 to 30.7] | NA |
| Chemoradiotherapy alone (n = 152) | NA | 25 (16.4) [10.9 to 23.3] | NA |
Abbreviations: DIGEST, Dynamic Imaging Grade of Swallowing Toxicity; MBS, modified barium swallow; NA, not applicable; TORS, transoral robotic surgery.
a
Cramer V effect sizes from the Fisher exact test between primary treatment groups per time point for full DIGEST and dichotomized DIGEST, interpreted per Cohen. All between-group differences in proportions are small.