Which measure assesses penetration and aspiration severity during swallowing assessment?

• A. FOIS
• B. PAS
• C. DOSS
• D. MBSImP

Answer: (B)

The main idea tested is how airway invasion is quantified during a swallow study. The penetration-aspiration scale is designed specifically to rate the severity of penetration or aspiration observed during swallowing, typically during videofluoroscopic swallow studies. It uses an ordered scale to capture not just whether material enters the airway, but how far it goes (above or below the vocal folds) and how the person responds (e.g., whether it’s expelled or remains in the airway). This direct focus on depth of airway invasion and the protective response makes it the most precise and useful measure for assessing penetration and aspiration severity and for guiding safety decisions and treatment planning.

Functional oral intake scale looks at how much and what type of oral intake a person can tolerate in daily life, not the airway invasion observed during swallowing. Dysphagia outcome severity scale provides a broad judgment of overall dysphagia severity rather than detailing airway invasion. The MBSImP profiles swallowing impairment across multiple physiologic components, and while it captures overall swallow physiology, it does not offer a single dedicated metric for penetration-aspiration severity.