Creating a universal questionnaire based on the protocols for assessing the severity of dysphagia

Dysphagia affects our most basic functions — the ability to eat and drink. It negatively affects the quality of life of patients, especially in the elderly, which can lead to exhaustion, dehydration, aspiration pneumonia and, ultimately, death. Dysphagia and its severity should be assessed accurately and in a timely manner. Many questionnaires have been proposed to monitor the severity and effectiveness of dysphagia therapy. This paper analyzes ten different self-assessment questionnaires for quality of life. Almost all currently available questionnaires need to be finalized. Based on the DHI (Dysphagia Disability Index) questionnaire, we proposed a special questionnaire that has a number of advantages over the others, it takes into account the age of patients, is universal, and is also suitable for assessing dysphagia, both before and after treatment.