Participants
The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) patients who were admitted in a tertiary university hospital and referred to the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation for VFSS to evaluate the safety of swallowing, (2) patients who could maintain a sitting position during VFSS, (3) patients who could stay alert for at least 20 min, and (4) patients who have sufficient cognitive function to follow simple directions during VFSS. The exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) patients aged All the inpatients who were referred to our department for VFSS were assessed for eligibility based on medical records. All participants were provided study-related information directly from the researchers and gave written informed consent 1 or 2 days prior to VFSS. Figure 