Dysphagia

Question 1

What are the causes of dysphagia?

Answer 1

• OBSTRUCTIVE: oesophageal carcinoma, peptic strictures, oesophageal web/ring, gastric carcinoma, pharyngeal carcinoma, extrinsic pressure from lung or retrosternal goitre
• MOTILITY DISORDERS: achalasia, systemic sclerosis, stroke, myasthenia gravis, neurodegenerative conditions
• Oesophagitis
• Pharyngeal pouch
• Oesophageal candidiasis

Question 2

How else can dysphagia be categorised?

Answer 2

• INTRALUMINAL: foreign body
• INTRAMURAL (inside oesophagus): achalasia, GORD, malignancy, scleroderma
• EXTRAMURAL (outside oesophagus): retrosternal goitre, lung cancer, lymphadenopathy, aortic aneurysm
• NEUROMUSCULAR: stroke, Guillian-Barre syndrome, motor neurone disease, myasthenia gravis