TY - JOUR
T1 - The Reliability of Oral and Pharyngeal Dimensions Captured with Acoustic Pharyngometry
AU - Molfenter, Sonja M.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York.
PY - 2016/8/1
Y1 - 2016/8/1
N2 - Acoustic Pharyngometry (APh) is a method for quantifying oropharyngeal tract configuration using sound wave reflection and is commonly used in diagnostics and research of sleep apnea. The standard preset output of APh (minimal cross-sectional area) has been established as reliable. However, by conducting post-processing measures on specific breathing tasks, APh data can also reveal oral length, oral volume, pharyngeal length, and pharyngeal volume. Given that these measures may have utility in dysphagia research, the reliability of these measures is unknown and is the focus of the current study. Ten young healthy female volunteers completed two sessions of APh data collection to obtain measures of oral length, oral volume, pharyngeal length, and pharyngeal volume 1 week apart. Two-way mixed intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated to establish intra-rater reliability, inter-rater reliability, and test–retest reliability. Results revealed excellent levels of agreement within and across raters for all oropharyngeal tract parameters. Levels of test–retest agreement for oral length and oral volume indicated these parameters are appropriate for monitoring change within an individual. All parameters were deemed to have acceptable test–retest values as outcome measures in group-level analysis.
AB - Acoustic Pharyngometry (APh) is a method for quantifying oropharyngeal tract configuration using sound wave reflection and is commonly used in diagnostics and research of sleep apnea. The standard preset output of APh (minimal cross-sectional area) has been established as reliable. However, by conducting post-processing measures on specific breathing tasks, APh data can also reveal oral length, oral volume, pharyngeal length, and pharyngeal volume. Given that these measures may have utility in dysphagia research, the reliability of these measures is unknown and is the focus of the current study. Ten young healthy female volunteers completed two sessions of APh data collection to obtain measures of oral length, oral volume, pharyngeal length, and pharyngeal volume 1 week apart. Two-way mixed intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated to establish intra-rater reliability, inter-rater reliability, and test–retest reliability. Results revealed excellent levels of agreement within and across raters for all oropharyngeal tract parameters. Levels of test–retest agreement for oral length and oral volume indicated these parameters are appropriate for monitoring change within an individual. All parameters were deemed to have acceptable test–retest values as outcome measures in group-level analysis.
KW - Acoustic pharyngometry
KW - Deglutition
KW - Deglutition disorders
KW - Oral cavity
KW - Pharynx
KW - Reliability
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U2 - 10.1007/s00455-016-9713-y
DO - 10.1007/s00455-016-9713-y
M3 - Article
C2 - 27262868
AN - SCOPUS:84978076972
SN - 0179-051X
VL - 31
SP - 555
EP - 559
JO - Dysphagia
JF - Dysphagia
IS - 4
ER -