Dysphagia

Question 1

oropharyngeal dysphagia is symptoms and presentation :

Answer 1

main symptoms are:
coughing, choking spells, nasal regurgitation, prolonged swallowing effort
difficulty in initiation and swallowing of effort

difficulty of swallowing with a feeling of obstruction at the level of the neck

This results from disrupted neuromuscular coordination needed for deglutition and seen in stroke pts

Question 2

oropharyngeal dysphagia is diagnosed and assessed by

Answer 2

modified barium swallow

or can get a videofluoroscopy performed in the presence of a expert speech pathologist and radiologist

important to diagnose it early as failure to do so can lead to aspiration pneumonia which can cause high morbidity and mortality

Question 3

mechanical causes of oropharyngeal dysphagia:

Answer 3

osteophytes
Zenker’s diverticulum
tumors
post criocoid webs

Question 4

neuromuscular causes of causes of oropharyngeal dysphagia:

Answer 4

CVA
Parkinson's dx
dementia
myasthenia gravis 
 tardive dyskinesia
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis