No abstract

Purpose:The Pediatric Eating Assessment Tool (Pedi - EAT - 10) is a clinical screening tool that has been designed to assess pediatric patients at risk of penetration and/or aspiration symptoms of dysphagia, reported by parents or caregivers. The aim of this study was to translate and validate Pedi-EAT-10 in Greek language and to correlate its results with the Penetration and Aspiration scale (PAS) and pharyngeal residue. Methods: This study included sample of 222 parents or caregivers who have children with and without feeding and/or swallowing disorders. The children were randomly selected from cypriot public school, cypriot special public school, and the Speech, Language, and Hearing clinic of the European University of Cyprus; the children’s parents filled out the Pedi-EAΤ-10 questionnaire. For test-retest reliability, all participants administered the Pedi-EAT-10 again once more 2 weeks after the initial administration. Results: Validity was established by comparing the scores of children with and without feeding and/or swallowing disorders. Internal consistency of Pedi-EAT-10 was high (Cronbach's alpha 0.801). The split-half reliability technique demonstrated very good Pedi-EAT-10 internal consistency (split-half reliability coefficient = 0.789). A test-retest reliability measure showed strong correlation (r= 0.998). The cut-off point of Pedi-EAT-10 total score and PAS scale was 11.00. Finally, Pedi-EAT-10 total score in predicting pharyngeal residue observed a cut-off of 8.00. Conclusion:In conclusion, the Greek version of Pedi-EAT-10 is shown to be a clinically valid and reliable screening tool for the assessment of the pediatric population with a risk of dysphagia.