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Oropharyngeal dysphagia

Oropharyngeal dysphagia
Classification and external resources
ICD-10 R13
ICD-9-CM 787.22
DiseasesDB 17942
MedlinePlus 003115
eMedicine pmr/194
MeSH D003680
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Oropharyngeal dysphagia arises from abnormalities of muscles, nerves or structures of the oral cavity, pharynx, and upper esophageal sphincter.

Swallowing disorders can occur in all age groups, resulting from congenital abnormalities, structural damage, and/or medical conditions. Swallowing problems are a common complaint among older individuals, and the incidence of dysphagia is higher in the elderly, in patients who have had strokes, and in patients who are admitted to acute care hospitals or chronic care facilities. Other causes of dysphagia include head and neck cancer and progressive neurologic diseases like Parkinson's disease, Dementia, Multiple sclerosis, Multiple system atrophy, or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Dysphagia is a symptom of many different causes, which can usually be elicited by a careful history by the treating physician. A formal oropharyngeal dysphagia evaluation is performed by a speech-language pathologist or occupational therapist.

Dysphagia is classified by the deficit area such as oral, pharyngeal, oropharyngeal and esophageal dysphagia. In some patients, no organic cause for dysphagia can be found, and these patients are defined as having functional dysphagia.

Some signs and symptoms of swallowing difficulties include difficulty controlling food in the mouth, inability to control food or saliva in the mouth, difficulty initiating a swallow, coughing, choking, frequent pneumonia, unexplained weight loss, gurgly or wet voice after swallowing, nasal regurgitation, and dysphagia (patient complaint of swallowing difficulty). When asked where the food is getting stuck patients will often point to the cervical (neck) region as the site of the obstruction. The actual site of obstruction is always at or below the level at which the level of obstruction is perceived.


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