Introduction: Stroke is associated with a high prevalence of dysphagia in the elderly population. Hence, dysphagia evaluation and management are key issues in stroke rehabilitation. The McGill Ingestive Skills Assessment (MISA) is a recently developed mealtime observational tool aimed at evaluating the functional aspects of the oral phase of ingestion. Objective: To determine the discriminative validity of the MISA by assessing known/extreme groups of elderly individuals presenting with stroke, who have been admitted to an acute-care-hospital or a rehabilitation center. Participants were allocated to one of two groups: 1) individuals with stroke and no dysphagia, who are on a regular diet and 2) individuals with stroke and dysphagia, who are permitted only purees. Methods: Participants were evaluated with the MISA and a comprehensive chart review was conducted. Analysis: Groups were compared on socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. Univariate tests were performed to test the significance of between-group differences. Conclusion and significance: The results of the study are satisfactory, and enhance the clinical usefulness of the tool for dysphagia management. These results also support future studies addressing the responsiveness of the MISA.

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