Effects of Pharyngeal Electrical Stimulation on Swallow Timings, Clearance and Safety in Post-Stroke Dysphagia: Analysis from the Swallowing Treatment Using Electrical Pharyngeal Stimulation (STEPS) Trial

Table 3

Comparison of PAS, timing, and clearance measures for 5 ml mode swallow, by change score from baseline to two weeks, using Independent Samples -Test (continuous variables) and Mann–Whitney Test (ordinal variables).

5 ml measures–mode swallow		PES; Mean (SD)		No PES; Mean (SD)	Difference (95% CI)	value
PAS, modal bolus	38	-1.45 (3.06)	33	-0.85 (2.54)	-0.60 (-1.93, 0.73)	0.37
PAS, mean all boli	38	-0.99 (1.66)	34	-0.95 (1.58)	-0.04 (-0.80, 0.72)	0.91
OTT	20	-0.64 (1.83)	9	-0.51 (1.37)	-0.13 (-1.41, 1.14)	0.83
SRT	28	-1.98 (8.94)	27	-1.05 (3.39)	-0.92 (-4.60, 2.76)	0.62
ILC	24	-2.04 (9.73)	24	-1.17 (3.55)	-0.87 (-5.19, 3.45)	0.68
LVC_rt	25	-0.07 (0.15)	25	-0.01 (0.19)	-0.07 (-0.17, 0.03)	0.18
LCD	22	0.04 (0.18))	25	-0.00 (0.19)	0.04 (-0.07, 0.15)	0.43
PRT	15	0.01 (0.16)	9	0.01 (0.08)	-0.00 (-0.10, 0.10)	0.97
PTT	15	-3.66 (12.12)	10	-1.49 (5.26)	-2.17 (-9.55, 5.21)	0.55
UOSD	15	0.03 (0.15)	10	0.00 (0.09)	0.03 (-0.07, 0.13)	0.58
Initiation of pharyngeal swallow (0-4)	36	0 [2]	32	0 [1]	-0.5 (-1,0)	0.52
Ramus		8 (22.2)		5 (15.6)
Valleculae		6 (16.7)		2 (6.3)
Laryngeal surface		5 (13.9)		3 (9.4)
Pyriforms		17 (47.2)		22 (68.8)
No visible initiation		0 (0.0)
Oral residue (0-4)	22	0 [0]	23	0 [0]	-0.5 (-1,0)	0.64
Complete clearance		0 (0.0)		0 (0.0)
Trace residue		7 (31.8)		5 (21.7)
Residue collection		14 (63.6)		18 (78.3)
Majority bolus remaining		1 (4.5)		0 (0.0)
Minimal/no clearance		0 (0.0)		0.(0.0)
Pharyngeal residue (0-4)	31	0 [0]	29	0 [1]	0 (-1,0)	0.53
Complete clearance		2 (6.5)		0 (0.0)
Trace residue		11 (35.5)		14 (48.3)
Residue collection		18 (58.1)		15 (51.7)
Majority bolus remaining		0 (0.0)		0.(0.0)
Minimal/no clearance		0 (0.0)		0 (0.0)
No. of swallows to clear 5 ml	38	0.11 (1.39)	33	0.12 (1.22)	-0.02 (-0.63, 0.60)	0.96