Effects of Brief and Intensive Therapy for Dysphagia in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer during Radio-Chemotherapy: A Pilot Study

Review Data

Q: Is the topic relevant to the journal's area of interest? Is it contemporary and interesting for researchers?

A: Good

Abstract & Keywords

Q: Are all required components included in the abstract? Are the keywords appropriately chosen?

A: Good

Goal

Q: Is the goal explicitly stated in the Introduction? Is its formulation clear and unambiguous?

A: Good

Structure

Q: Is the paper's structure coherent? Is it in coherence with the goal of the paper?

A: Good

Tools and Methods

Q: Are the methods the author uses adequate and well used?

A: Good

Discussion & Conclusion

Q: Is it related to the results presented before? Do you consider them coherent?

A: Good

Comments: The Discussion elaborates the detailed account of the randomized clinical trial showing effects of brief and intensive therapy (BIT) for dysphagia in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) during radio-chemotherapy (RCT) compared to speech therapy. Studies also discussed about the negative impact of patients in the treatment of HNC providing relevant literature. The Conclusion highlights that the BIT programme has been effective in the maintenance of swallowing aspects, mouth opening, oral intake and quality of life. The authors pointed out that individuals undergoing therapeutic program had higher functional responses.

Literature

Q: Does the author utilize relevant literature?

A: Good

Author's knowledge

Q: What is the level of the author’s knowledge? Does the author utilize all recent contributions relevant to the topic?

A: Good

Length

Q: Is the length of the paper adequate for the significance of the topic? Do you suggest shortening the paper without losing its value?

A: Good

Figures & Tables

Q: Does the author use them suitably? Are legends and notations clear?

A: Good

Writing style

Q: Is it clear and understandable?

A: Good

Comments: There are few errors found in the manuscript which are as follows:

·       In Objective under Abstract, The sentence “Verify the effectiveness of a Brief and Intensive Dysphagia Therapy…” must start with ‘To’.

·       The word ‘edema’ has been misspelled as ‘edemra’.

Further comments on the paper

Comments: The randomized clinical trial aimed to verify the effectiveness of brief and intensive dysphagia therapy programme among patients suffering from head and neck cancer during radio-chemotherapy. The research provided the detailed research study conducted, followed by relevant results of the study. Further, the authors reported that Brief and intensive therapy presented superior results to the maintenance and/or rehabilitation of the swallowing mechanism in patients.

Q: Would you recommend this manuscript for further publication?

A: Yes - Suitable to be published

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Thanks,
Science Repository Team