Standardized Swallowing Assessment (SSA) Scale [
cough, palate, head and trunk, wheeze
The SSA was performed in three parts: (1) Clinical examination, including consciousness, head and trunk control, breathing, lip closure, soft palate movement, laryngeal function, gag reflex and spontaneous cough. The score was 8–23 points. (2) Patients were instructed to swallow 5 ml of water three times to observe the laryngeal movement and wheeze during swallowing. The score was 5–11 points. (3) If there was no abnormality in the above examination, the patient was instructed to swallow 60 ml of purified water to observe swallowing time and cough. The score was 5–12 points. The total score ranged between 18 and 46 points. Higher scores indicated a worse swallowing function.