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Drooling Rating Scale (DRS)
Availability
Please visit this website for more information about the instrument: Drooling Rating Scale
Classification
Supplemental: Parkinson's Disease (PD)
Short Description of Instrument
The Drooling Rating Scale (DRS) was first developed in 2001 to evaluate sialorrhea in Parkinson's disease patients. The scale was a component of a speech and language therapy intervention program developed by Marks and colleagues (2001). The DRS evaluates drooling in multiple situations including while sitting, standing, while in bed, talking, eating, and drinking.
Comments/Special Instructions
There is a second component to the test in the original report that is not a scale but entails counting the number of swallows during a five-minute period to be performed three times during the day.
Scoring and Psychometric Properties
Scoring: The DRS consists of 5 items that are scored on a scale of 0-3 with 0 indicating no drooling and 3 indicating severe drooling.
Excessive dryness of mouth (Score = 0)
No excess saliva (Score = 0)
Excess of saliva in mouth without drooling (Score = 1)
Mild to moderate drooling, needs occasional wiping (Score = 2)
Continuous drooling, wet clothes or constant use of handkerchief or tissue (Score = 3)
The total maximum score is 15 (Marks, Turner et al., 2001; Evatt, Chaudhuri et al., 2009).
 
Psychometric Properties: The DRS has not undergone any formal validation study or clinimetric evaluation.
Rationale/Justification
Strengths: The DRS is simple to complete and easy to use. It evaluates drooling in multiple situations. It has been used in multiple studies involving Parkinson's disease patients.
 
Weaknesses: The DRS has not undergone formal validation.
References
Key Reference:
Marks L, Turner K, O'Sullivan J, Deighton B, Lees A. Drooling in Parkinson's disease: a novel speech and language therapy intervention. Int J Lang Commun Disord. 2001;36 Suppl:282-7.
 
Additional References:
Evatt ML, Chaudhuri KR, Chou KL, Cubo E, Hinson V, Kompoliti K, Yang C, Poewe W, Rascol O, Sampaio C, Stebbins GT, Goetz CG. Dysautonomia rating scales in Parkinson's disease: sialorrhea, dysphagia, and constipation--critique and recommendations by movement disorders task force on rating scales for Parkinson's disease. Mov Disord. 2009 Apr 15;24(5):635-46.
 
Nascimento D, Carmona J, Mestre T, Ferreira JJ, Guimar?es I. Drooling rating scales in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review. Parkinsonism Relat Disord. 2021 Oct;91:173-180.
 
Document last updated August 2022