The Visual Analogue Test for Anosognosia for Dysphagia: VATA‐Dysphagia

What is already known on this subject Swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) can be associated with neurological diseases of varying natures and prompt intervention is required to mitigate important complications in everyday life, which can lead to life-threatening situations if not swiftly addressed. Hence, it is of paramount importance that both patients and caregivers are fully aware of these complications to appropriately implement the therapeutic plan and avoid risky situations. However, current methods to assess patient's awareness present various methodological limitations and cannot be reliably used with a neurological population showing associated cognitive and communication impairments. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge In the current study, we have devised a new short, but reliable, scale that allowed clinicians and researchers to assess awareness of dysphagia in neurological patients and compare results with norms. With this new tool, we observed that 52.5% of the patients showed some degree of unawareness of their dysphagia, potentially exposing them to risky situations. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? The study has important clinical implications as the proposed tool can be used routinely in clinical settings to assess and monitor the patients' and their care team's awareness of swallowing difficulties of different types and severities. Routine use of this tool can help clinicians to promptly identify potentially risky situations and improve the functional outcome of the intervention.