A new dysphagia score with objective validation.

Patients' accounts of their eating capacity correlate reasonably well with their observed performance, but they do not exactly match each other. This can be attributed to patients' inaccurate estimation of eating ability and the inconstant nature of dysphagia. Therefore, we advocate a combined score in clinical trials. However, for clinical practice, a quantitative assessment of the patient's account is quicker, more convenient, and sufficiently accurate. The advantage of a numerical score is obvious in clinical trials because of its statistical versatility, and may also be desirable in certain cases in clinical practice.