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Introduction: The use of symptom-specific questionnaires on head and neck cancer (HNC), together with objective swallowing measures, can be sensitive to changes in quality of life (QoL) resulting from dysphagia, but this tool is not broadly used as a complement to clinical evaluations., Purpose: To analyze the correlation between the M. D. Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) questionnaire and videofluoroscopy (VF) in patients treated for head and neck cancer., Methods: This is a retrospective study with review of clinical data, VF and MDADI results. The study sample was composed of adult patients (>18 y.o.) treated for tumors at the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, and larynx, regardless of treatment type. For the VF examination, swallowing of 5 and 20 ml of nectar-thick liquids were considered. The Mann-Whitney nonparametric test was applied to evaluate the correlations between the MDADI and VF., Results: Thirty-nine patients, mostly men (87.18%), with mean age of 61 years participated in the study. Most patients (16) presented oral cavity tumors (41.03%). Twenty-two patients were in advanced clinical stage (IV). Surgery was the most prevalent treatment (41.03%). Approximately half of the participants (20) received oral feeding. The total mean (TM) on the MDADI was 63.36. Comparison between VF and MDADI data showed significant correlation between TM, emotional domain (ED), and physical domain (PD) with penetration during the swallowing of 5 ml. Penetration and aspiration with 20 ml determined worse QoL on the global (p=0.018 and p=0.0053), emotional (p=0.0012 and p=0.027) and physical (p=0.0002 and p=0.0051) domains, and TM (p=0.0023 and p=0.0299), respectively. The presence of stasis did not determine worse QoL., Conclusion: Patients treated for HNC who presented penetration/aspiration showed worse QoL on the emotional and physical domains of the MDADI.

Analysis of quality of life (QOL) has revealed that preservation of swallowing, speech, and breathing functions has a direct impact on QOL and that these functions are important patient-reported outcomes. The purposes of this study were to adapt and culturally validate the M.D. Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) to the Brazilian Portuguese language and to evaluate QOL related to dysphagia in patients treated for head and neck cancer. This was a cross-sectional study that included 72 adult patients with a mean age of 63 years who were treated for head and neck cancer. Construct validity and reliability analyses were performed through the comparison of the MDADI with three other health-related QOL questionnaires administered at the time of enrollment and MDADI application 2 weeks thereafter, respectively. Reliability was established by assuring both internal consistency (Cronbach's α) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient, ICC). Test-retest reliability for the total score in the MDADI had an ICC greater than 0.795 (p < 0.001). The MDADI had significant statistical correlations with the other questionnaires. Patients treated for head and neck cancer had a mean total score of 83 on the MDADI, which is indicative of minimal limitation in overall QOL. In conclusion, the present study validates the adaptation of the MDADI to the Brazilian Portuguese language and provides another tool to evaluate the impact of dysphagia on the QOL of head and neck cancer patients.