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192 M. Bu¨low
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few reports could be found describing this condition. However, there are reports suggestingthat persons with psychological conflicts in an attempt to reduce unac­ceptable emotional responses may convert them into more acceptable physical manifestations (Finkenbine and Miele 2004; Lehtinenand Puhakka 1976. Ithasalso been suggested that patients with this condition may sufferfromanxiety and depression (DeLucas-Taracena and Montanes-Rada 2006).
Several different terms are used to describe the condition of dysphagia with psychiatric origin, where ‘‘psychogenic dysphagia’’ is the most well known. Sometimes the term ‘‘sitophobia,’’ from the Greek words sito (‘‘food’’) and phobia (‘‘fear,’’ ‘‘aversion’’), may be used to describe a condition with pathologic fear of swallowing. Other terms which may be used are ‘‘choking phobia or swallowing phobia’’ (Seems et al.
2009; De Lucas-Taracena and Montanes-Rada 2006;
McNally 1994), ‘‘globus hystericus’’ (Finkenbine and Miele 2004; Ravich et al. 1989; Stacher 1983,
1986), ‘‘hysterical dysphagia’’ (Ciyiltepe and
Türkbay 2006; Nicasso et al. 1981), ‘‘phagophobia’’ (Ciyiltepe and Türkbay 2006; Shapiro et al. 1997), and ‘‘pseudodysphagia’’ (Bradley and Narula 1987).
2 Symptoms in Psychogenic
Dysphagia
Psychological factorswhich inhibit normalswallowing and result ininefficient and/or disorganizedswallowing are thought to be related to signs of psychogenic dys­phagia. Nicholson et al. (2010) think that psychogenic dysphagia is a problematic diagnosis.The psychologi­cal mechanism and how it differs from conscious simulation still remains unclear.
The most common complaint of patients with psychogenic swallowing problems is fear of swal­lowing manifested as difficulties initiating the swallowing and thereby sometimes avoidance of eating. Certain foods, fluids, and pills may cause huge problems for patients to swallow (Barofsky and Fontaine 1998; Ciyiltepe and Türkbay 2006; Leopold and Kagel 1997; Ravich et al. 1989; Shapiro et al. 1997). Also, abnormal oral behaviors, with repeated deviant tongue movements, a feeling of throat pressure, and complaint of globus were found in this patient group. Complaints reported by Bradley and Narula (1987) and Shapiro et al.
(1997) are a globus sensation, general difficulties in swallowing, breathing problems, and fear of choking. Also, malnutrition and weight loss may be associ­ated with a swallowing condition with psychiatric origin (Barofsky and Fontaine 1998; Ciyiltepe and Türkbay 2006; Finkenbine and Miele 2004; Shapiro et al. 1997).
In some literature, psychogenic dysphagia has been described as a conversion disorder. Psycho­logical conflicts and anxiety are transformed into somatic symptoms and are regarded as an uncon­scious process. Kanner (1935) described dysphagia as a primary conversion disorder. A case was pre­sented of a 12-year-old boy who had developed dysphagia to solid foods owing to physical abuse by his father for eating improperly. In our swallowing clinic we have encountered similar cases. A young single mother, with a 5-year-old daughter, worked as a cashier in a grocer’s shop. She was unable to take a normal lunch break because of customer demands, which was a high stress factor in her working conditions. After a period of time she was unable to eat and swallow in a normal way. Her complaints were primarily oral in nature, along with difficulties in initiating the swallow. Videofluoro­scopic swallow evaluation (VFSE) showed signs of oral dysphagia with intact pharyngeal function. Another example is a middle-aged woman with an abnormal oral phase of swallowing and fear of initiating the swallowing. She told us during one of her therapeutic sessions that during her childhood she had been forced by a strict grandmother to always empty her plate. She experienced great fear when she visited her grandmother, especially when forced to eat with her. When exposed to stress later in life, she reacted with an inability to eat and swallow normally.
Another form of conversion disorder described as a manifestation of both a physiological disorder and psychiatric illness is the sensation of globus (Finkenbine and Miele 2004). Bradley and Narula (1987) described the sensation of a ‘‘lump’’ or ‘‘full­ness’’ localized to the throat in association with globus hystericus, hysterical dysphagia, or pseud­odysphagia. Their conclusion was that when no evident cause is found, the condition may be a ‘‘‘primary globus pharyngeus’, or a ‘secondary globus pharyngeus’ when the etiology was detectable’’ (p. 689). Okada et al. (2007) analyzed in a case study
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six children with phagophobia according to psycho­pathology and current treatment. Their results indi­cated that evaluation of premorbid personality is crucial to the prognosis.
Psychological factors have also been found to be associated with esophageal dysphagia. Esophageal contractions can result from psychological stress. Kronecker and Meltzer(1883) reported that esophageal contractions, not onlydueto emotional tension, butalso in some cases due to cold or hot food could react with nonpropulsive contractions. Other interesting obser­vations have shown that stimuli not relatedto ingestion such as intense short sounds may influence esophageal contraction and are likely to form part of the defense reaction of a healthy organism (Stacher 1983).
Abnormal oral swallowing behaviors in the pres­ence of intact pharyngeal stage function may be revealed on radiological swallowing evaluations. In some cases, such oral abnormalities may be associated with psychogenic dysphagia. Diffuse esophageal symptoms mayalso be related to psychological factors. According to Jones (2003), patients with psychogenic dysphagia may demonstrate a variety of swallowing signs during VFSE, including the presentation of small boluses, multiple tongue movements, and ‘‘complex oral motions such as rocking, swirling, bunching and pumping’’ (p. 97). Also, the presence of a pharyngeal swallow delay without oral propulsion of bolus has been described by Jones (2003).
Even ifreports regarding communicative symptoms associated with psychogenicdysphagia are notfound in the literature, an interesting case study describes a 63-year-old male ‘‘deglutition stutterer.’’ The man developed myoclonusof the tongue and contractionsof the hypopharyngeal muscles in the moment of deglu­tition. The history was remarkable for pharyngeal spasms in his youth, which reemerged as described above in stressful situations (Escher 1983).
At our swallowing clinic, from 2002 to 2010 we completed 2,084 VFSE studies, and psychogenic dysphagia was diagnosed in 25 cases (0.01%). The most frequent complaints regarding swallowing signs and symptoms are listed in Table 1. The patients often presented with more than one symptom. Those patients with complaints of globus without pharyn­geal dysfunction or with suspected esophageal dysfunction were referred to either an otolaryngolo­gist or a gastroenterologist for further clinical or instrumental evaluation.
Table 1 The most frequent complaints in psychogenic
dysphagia regarding swallowing signs and symptoms in our videofluoroscopic swallow evaluation (VFSE) studies
Complaint No. of
Fear of swallowing 13 of 25 Experienced difficulties in swallowing specific
consistencies Problems in initiating the pharyngeal swallow.
(The patient experienced a feeling of being unable to swallow. On VFSE we could document a normal pharyngeal swallow.)
Oral abnormalities (such as multiple tongue movements with difficulties in propelling the bolus posteriorly to pass the base of the tongue and initiating the pharyngeal swallow)
Globus complaints 6 of 25 Normal pharyngeal swallow 25 of 25
patients
13 of 25
10 of 25
8of25
3 Epidemiology
From different swallowing clinics it has been reported that a minor group of the patients complaining of swallowing problems have psychogenic dysphagia. Among patients referred to the Johns Hopkins Swal­lowing Center, 13% had been diagnosed with psy­chogenic dysphagia or globus hystericus. However, when this group was later reevaluated, more than half of the group were found to have an organic cause of the dysphagia (Ravich et al. 1989). From a large sample of patients seen in a swallowing center and complaining of swallowing difficulties, a normal pharyngeal swallow revealed on VFSE (with addi­tional abnormal oral behaviors in some cases) accounted for approximately only 3% of the group (Barofsky et al. 1993). Malcolmson (1966) diagnosed 231 patients with globus hystericus, and negative clinical and radiological evaluations were found in 20% of the patients. Patients with different psycho­somatic disorders of gastrointestinal tract were stud­ied (612 patients) by Korkina and Marilov (1995). In 70% of the 612 patients studied, relatives of the patient also had psychosomatic diseases, suggesting the possible influence of genetic and environmental factors in this condition. Choking phobia was found to be more frequent in females (two thirds of cases) and had a high comorbidity with anxiety disorders. Life events such as divorce, disease in the family, or
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unemployment, as well astraumatic eating antecedents, were also frequently present (De Lucas-Taracena and Montanes-Rada 2006). Prevalence studies have shown that 45% of young and middle-aged people are estimated to suffer from symptoms of globus, often in combination with strong emotion (Thompson and Heaton 1982).
4 Swallowing Evaluation
A diagnosis of psychogenic origin must be used with caution and only after a thorough evaluation. At the Johns Hopkins Swallowing Center, Ravich et al. (1989) performed a reevaluation of 23 patients with the diagnosis of psychogenic dysphagia or globus hystericus. They subsequently found that more than half of these patients had an underlying physical explanation for their difficulty swallowing. In 65% of the patients (15 of 23), pharyngeal dysfunction, structural obstruction, or esophageal dysmotility was found. Owing to those findings, they suggested that when any changes or progression of symptoms was reported, a careful reevaluation should be performed. Stacher (1986) also recommended caution when attributing symptoms of dysphagia to psychogenic origins and emphasized the importance of performing instrumental examinations:
in the throat, fear of choking, and/or the inability to swallow solids. A complete and careful medical his­tory is crucial and should therefore be the first part of the swallowing evaluation (Castell and Donner 1987). Important considerations in the medical history include the patient’s symptoms, when they occur, and under what circumstances; the duration of swallowing difficulty; and determination regarding a history of eating disorders, weight loss, and family history of dysphagia. Following the medical history, a physical examination should be performed to rule out any organic causes of the symptoms. A multidisciplinary approach may be required, involving professionals from the fields of neurology, otolaryngology, speech– language pathology, radiology, and gastroenterology. The next step, often indicated for a complete evalu­ation, is an instrumental assessment of swallowing (i.e., VFSE to evaluate oropharyngeal swallowing, barium swallow/esophogram to assess esophageal function). Esophagoscopy, manometry, pH monitor­ing, and endoscopy may also be of value. Laboratory tests to rule out disturbances as hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia, systemic infections, or toxins may also be of importance in establishing the diagnosis of psychogenic dysphagia. Another technique discussed by Vaiman et al. (2008) is to use surface electromy­ography (sEMG) of deglutition to investigate sus­pected psychogenic dysphagia (Table 2).
It is not justifiable to label dysphagic symptoms, for
which no organic etiology can be detected, as psycho-
genic or psychosomatic. Patients with such symptoms
should be studied by means of esophageal manometry
and/or pH-metry to reveal the nature of their disorder
and to enable adequate therapy (p. 502).
A careful and thorough evaluation must be com­pleted, and may also include psychological assess­ment when a psychogenic dysphagia is suspected. Okada et al. (2007) studied psychopathology and treatment in children with phagophobia, and they found that an evaluation of premorbid personality was crucial to the prognosis. The diagnosis of psychogenic dysphagia should, to avoid misdiagnosis, be reserved for patients with strong psychological symptoms and/ or fear of swallowing. (Jones 2003). A positive dysphagia history consisting of different complaints associated with the moment of swallowing is often found in patients with psychogenic dysphagia. The patients may report the feeling of a lump or pressure
5 Treatment of Psychogenic
Dysphagia
A multidisciplinary approach including professionals from the fields of psychiatry, psychology, otolaryn­gology, neurology, speech–language pathology, radiology, and gastroenterology may be required in the treatment of psychogenic dysphagia. A combi­nation of psychological treatment and dysphagia therapy seems to be the most effective treatment of psychogenic dysphagia (Ball and Otto 1994;De Lucas-Taracena and Montanes-Rada 2006). In a case report by Ciyiltepe and Türkbay (2006), a 13-year­old boy suffering from psychogenic dysphagia treated with such an approach is described. A psy­chological behavior management program has to consist of behavior modification, insight-oriented therapy, and family therapy. The dysphagia therapy sessions should include therapeutic eating trials with
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Table 2 Treatment of psychogenic dysphagia
Evaluation of psychogenic dysphagia Professionals commonly
History
A thorough history is often obtained in a multidisciplinary fashion emphasizing Otolaryngologist
Patient complaints Psychiatrist Symptoms and when they occur and under what circumstances Psychologist Duration of swallowing difficulty Speech–language
Determination regarding a history of eating disorders Radiologist Weight loss Laboratory staff Family history of dysphagia
Clinical examinations
Physical examinations may be performed by a multidisciplinary team of professionals including; Otolaryngologist Speech–language pathologist Gastroenterologist Psychiatrist Psychologist
Instrumental examinations
Radiology; VFSE Hypopharynx esophagus examination (a morpholgic swallowing examination) Videomanometry (examination for analysis of quantitative intraluminal pressure changes in the
pharynx and the esophagus)
Gastroenterology;
pH-metry (24-h pH recording) Gastroscopy (assessment of the morphology in the esophagus and stomach Surface electromyography
Different laboratory tests (to eliminate electrolyte disturbances, sideropenic anemia, or iron deficiency)
involved
Gastroenterologist
pathologist
various consistencies, as well as oral motor exercise programs. Also relaxation exercises, breathing sup­port, and functional coughing could be of benefit for the patient. In a report by Shapiro et al. (1997), the benefit of behavioral techniques and the use of hypnosis in a single case were discussed. Also, other studies have emphasized the positive effect of behavioral therapy. For example, Nicasso et al. (1981) described behavioral therapy as a beneficial and even life-saving approach for hysterical behav­ior. The importance of explaining normal swallow­ing mechanisms, the role of emotions, and the use of a holistic approach was pointed out by Bretan et al. (1996). A relationship of trust between the patient
and the clinician is essential (Finkenbine and Miele
2004). In some cases, family therapy may be of
benefit (Oberfield 1981).
To treat patients with psychogenic dysphagia may be a challenge. However, in our swallowing clinic we have also experienced that a combination of psycho­logical treatment and dysphagia therapy may be a successful treatment for some patients with psycho­genic dysphagia. We have found that it may be of benefit for patients if the dysphagia therapy sessions involve education regarding normal swallowing phys­iology combined with breathing exercises. Such train­ing involving the coordination of breathing and swallowing necessary for safe swallowing could help
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the patient to understand the physiological process of the swallowing and thereby hopefully decrease the fear
References
of swallowing. Therapeutic eating sessions starting with the consistency easiest to swallow may also be of benefit. Close collaboration between the dysphagia clinician and psychologists and psychiatrists is, in our experience, necessary for optimal management.
Pharmalogical treatment with antianxiety medica­tions has been reported to be an effective treatment in some casesof psychogenicdysphagia (McNally 1994). De Lucas-Taracena and Montanes-Rada (2006) found that antipanic drugs (alprazolam, lorazepam, bro­mazepan, imipramine, clomipramine, fluoxefine, par­oxetine) were of proven efficacy, with a remission rate of 58.5%.
Surgical treatment is not appropriate in the manage­ment of swallowing disorders of psychogenic origin, although psychogenic dysphagia has been reported to result from surgical intervention. Nicasso et al. (1981) described a 60-year-old man with postoperative hyster­ical dysphagia following esophagectomy and cervical esophagogastrostomy secondary to esophageal cancer. Postoperatively, the patient complained of globus, although instrumental evaluations revealed the patient was able to swallow safely and adequately.
6 Conclusion
Psychogenic dysphagia is an uncommon swallowing condition, most often characterized by fear of swal­lowing. On VFSE abnormal oral behaviors such as repeated deviant tongue movements may be present, but the pharyngeal stage swallowing is revealed to be normal. Also, esophageal dysfunction may at times be associated with psychogenic symptoms. To establish a diagnosis of psychogenic dysphagia, a thorough evaluation must be performed. The evaluation should involve careful taking of the medical history, clinical and instrumental examinations, and, if necessary, laboratory tests. The best therapeutic management approach appears to be a combination of a dysphagia therapy and psychological treatment. It has also been reported that patients, in some cases, have benefited from antianxiety medications. For best management of a patient with psychogenic dysphagia, evaluation and treatment should be performed with a multidis­ciplinary approach
Ball SG, Otto MW (1994) Cognitive-behavioral treatment of
choking phobia: 3 case studies. Psychother Psychosom 62:207–211
Barofsky I, Fontaine KR (1998) Do psychogenic dysphagia
patients have an eating disorder? Dysphagia 13:24–27
Barofsky I, Buchholz D, Edwin D, Jones B, Ravich W (1993)
Characteristics of patients who have difficulties initiating swallowing [abstract]. In: Annual meeting of the Dysphagia Research Society, Lake Geneva, September 1993
Bradley PJ, Narula A (1987) Clinical aspects of pseudody-
sphagia. J Laryngol Otol 101:689–694
Bretan O, Henry MA, Kerr-Correa F (1996) Dysphagia and
emotional distress. Arq Gastroenterol 3:60–65
Castell DO, Donner MW (1987) Evaluation of dysphagia: a
careful history is crucial. Dysphagia 2:65–71
Ciyiltepe M, Türkbay T (2006) Phagophobia: a case report.
Turk J Pediatr 48:80–84
De Lucas-Taracena MT, Montanes-Rada F (2006) Swallowing
phobia: symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Actas Esp Psiquiatr 34:309–316
Escher F (1983) A deglutition stutterer. Contribution on
psychogenic inability to swallow. HNO 31:104–106
Finkenbine R, Miele VJ (2004) Globus hystericus: a brief
review. Gen Hosp Psychiatry 26:78–82
Jones B (2003) Pharyngoesophageal interrelationship and
reflexes involved in airway protection. In: Jones B (ed) Normal and abnormal swallowing: imaging in diagnosis and
therapy, 2nd edn. Springer, New York, pp 91–96 Kanner L (1935) Child psychiatry. Thomas, Springfield Korkina MV, Marilov VV (1995) Variants of psychosomatic
personality development in disease of the gastrointestinal
tract. Nevropatol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova 95:43–47 Kronecker H, Meltzer SJ (1883) Der Schluckmekanismus,
seine Erregungen und seine Henimung. Arch Anat Physiol
Physiol Abt 7:328–362 Lehtinen V, Puhakka A (1976) A psychosomatic approach to
the globus hystericus syndrome. Acta Psychiatr Scand
53:21–28 Leopold NA, Kagel MC (1997) Dysphagia—ingestion or
deglutition?: a proposed paradigm. Dysphagia 12:
202–206 Malcolmson KG (1966) Radiological findings in globus
hystericus. Br J Radiol 39:583–586 McNally RJ (1994) Choking phobia: a review of the literature.
Compr Psychiatry 35:83–89 Nicasso PM, Arnold ES, Prager RL, Bryant PR (1981)
Behavioral treatment of hysterical dysphagia in a hospital
setting. Gen Hosp Psychiatry 3:213–217 Nicholson TR, Stone J, Kanaan RA (2010) Convensiondisorder:
a problematic diagnosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry.
[Epub ahead of print: 29Oct] doi:10.1136/jnnp.2008.171306 Oberfield RA (1981) Family therapy with adolescents: treat-
ment of a teenage girl with globus hystericus and weight
loss. J Am Acad Child Psychiatry 20:822–833 Okada A, Tsukamoto C, Hosogi M, Yamanaka E, Watanabe K,
Ootyou K, Morishima T (2007)A study of psycho-pathology
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and treatment of children with phagophobia. Acta Med Okayama 61:261–269
Ravich WJ, Wilson RS, Jones B, Donner MW (1989)
Psychogenic dysphagia and globus: reevaluation of 23 patients. Dysphagia 4:35–38
Seems S, Wielenska RC, Savoia MG, Bernik M (2009)
Choking phobia: full remission following behavior therapy. Rev Bras Psiquiatr 31:257–260
Shapiro J, Franko DL, Gagne A (1997) Phagophobia: a form of
psychogenic dysphagia. A new entity. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol 106:286–290
Stacher G (1983) Swallowing the psyche. Wien Klin
Wochenschr 8:502–511 Stacher G (1986) Differential diagnosis of psychosomatic
deglutition disorders. Wien Klin Wochenschr 98:
658–663 Thompson WG, Heaton KW (1982) Heartburn and globus in
apparently healthy people. Can Med Assoc J 126:46–48 Vaiman M, Shoval G, Gavriel H (2008) The electrodiagnostic
examination of psychogenic swallowing disorders. Eur Arch
Otorhinolaryngol 265:663–668
Part III
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Imaging and Other Examination Techniques
The Clinical and Radiological Approach
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to Dysphagia
Peter Pokieser and Martina Scharitzer
Contents
1 Introduction.............................................................. 201
2 Symptoms of Swallowing Disorders ...................... 203
2.1 Dysphagia .................................................................. 204
2.2 Aspiration................................................................... 207
3 Multidisciplinary Evaluation of Swallowing
Disorders................................................................... 207
4 Imaging of Swallowing Disorders .......................... 215
4.1 Technical Considerations .......................................... 215
4.2 Examination Technique............................................. 215
4.3 Reporting on the Seven Functional Units
of Swallowing............................................................ 220
References.......................................................................... 235
Abstract
The intention of this chapter is to introduce a multi-disciplinary diagnostic work-up and, in par­ticular, to present a practical and structured radiological approach. Swallowing disorders are common. U.S. statistics indicate that more than 5 % of the population has swallowing difficulties, and in hospitals up to 50% (Logemann 1995). The swallowing tract crosses many anatomic regions. Liquid and solid foods have to be transported properly from the oral cavity into the pharynx and through the esophagus into the stomach. Thus, a wide variety of diseases may affect deglutition, resulting in a multidisciplinary work-up of dys­phagic patients. Videofluoroscopy (VF) of deglu­tition is the method of choice to investigate the whole swallowing tract in a ‘‘one-stop-shopping’’ fashion. VF can depict patho- logic findings of morphology and function as a basis to decide on a further specialized work-up.
1 Introduction
P. Pokieser (&) M. Scharitzer Department of Radiology, University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090 Vienna, Austria e-mail: peter.pokieser@meduniwien.ac.at
O. Ekberg (ed.), Dysphagia, Medical Radiology. Diagnostic Imaging, DOI: 10.1007/174_2012_617, Ó Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012
The intention of this chapter is to introduce a multidis­ciplinarydiagnosticwork-upand,inparticular,topresent a practical and structured radiological approach. Swal­lowing disorders arecommon. U.S. statisticsindicate that more than 5 % of the population has swallowing diffi­culties, and in hospitals up to 50 % (Logemann 1995).
The swallowingtract crossesmanyanatomicregions. Liquid and solid foods have to be transported properly from the oral cavity into the pharynx and through the esophagus into the stomach. Thus, a wide variety of
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Table 1 Suggested protocol for the evaluation of symptoms
D Difficulty swallowing? Y Yesterday compared with 2 years ago? S Solid, liquid or both? P Pattern of swallowing events? H Heartburn history? A Area of symptoms? G Gradual or sudden onset? I Interventions? A Auxiliary clues, such as weight loss?
Fig. 1 Prone oblique position: Contrast material is given by a
straw. Abnormal structural movements may be diagnosed. Further misdirection or retention of a bolus can be documented. The seven functional units may serve as a basis for the structured radiological report on deglutition
Fig. 2 First standard position. Overview of the lateral oral
cavity and pharynx. In this position, the pharynx is shown in the largest possible section of the image in a way that the oral cavity and, in the caudal aspect, also the upper esophageal sphincter is included (arrow).Thepatientis examined in theuprightposition, either standingor sitting.Usually the patient is turnedto the right side, slightlyoblique. It is useful torepeat this sceneafter turning the patient to the left, if stenoses need to be ruled out
Fig. 3 Second standard position. This setting shows the upper
esophageal sphincterinthelateral view, slightly oblique(arrow). The upper esophageal sphincter can be evaluated particularly well in this targeted image of the cervicothoracic junction
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Fig. 4 Third standard position. Sometimes it is useful to view
the oral cavity separately. In doing so, the movement of the soft palate during speech can be visualized. However, the pharyn­geal phase is largely eliminated in this setting. While speaking, the soft palate rises up to the posterior wall of the nasopharynx, while the patient says ‘‘Kathy’’ (arrow)
diseases may affect deglutition, resulting in a multidis­ciplinary work-up of dysphagic patients. Videofluoros­copy (VF) of deglutition is the method of choice to investigate the whole swallowing tract in a ‘‘one­stop-shopping’’ fashion. VF can depict pathologic find­ingsof morphologyandfunction as a basisto decideon a further specialized work-up.
2 Symptoms of Swallowing Disorders
Establishing medical history is the first step in the investigation of patients with swallowing disorders, in order to individually tailor the examination and to cor-
symptoms. A questionnaire helps structure the patient’s history and should include the onset and duration of swallowing disorders, the pattern of swallowing events, the location of symptoms,the consistencies offoods that lead to swallowing difficulties, as well as history of aspiration, regurgitation, coughing, pneumonia and
Fig. 5 Fourth standard position. Frontal view of the oral
cavity, the pharynx and the cervical esophagus. The symmetry of the passage has to be documented
previous operations affecting the upper gastrointestinal tract and neurological diseases.
For an adequate work-flow of diagnostic tests and therapeutic concepts, the patient’s history has to be differentiated into practical categories. With increas­ing experience with this patient group the investigator may step further into the ‘‘art and science of history­taking in the patient with swallowing difficulties’’ (Table 1) (Hendrix 1993).
For the imaging specialist, the patient’s history guides the design of the VF examination and has to be integrated critically into the interpretation of the study. Do the VF findings or other test results explain the patient’s symptoms?(EkbergandPokieser1997). When