MASA: The Mann Assessment of Swallowing Ability (Dysphagia Series)

This assessment is short and to the point....exactly what i needed and wanted. It provides a consistent way to rate patients.

The only thing I don't like about it is the record form print so way too small. Otherwise, it seems like it will be a great tool to use.

Our hospital just acquired this test to see if it will work as a standardized assessment for all of the SLPs in our acute care network. My colleague and I have used it a few times in conjunction with a bedside swallowing evaluation. We found the test to be unreliable for our population. For example, we got identical scores for two patients, even though one who had COPD was clearly aspirating with all consistencies and NPO was recommended while the other only needed a mechanical soft diet with thin liquids due to residual stroke deficits and poor dentition. Their scores indicated a mild deficit, which means that this assessment clearly did not support the clinical findings for the COPD patient. We are not going to be recommending it for use in our network. Anjea E. Ray, M.S., CCC-SLP