A Case of Severe Dysphagia Suspected to Result from Acute Oropharyngeal Palsy in which Balloon Dilation was Effective

Masamune EBARA; Dai FUJIWARA; Taiki ITO; Ran KIGUCHI; Yosuke TOMIYAMA

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A Case of Severe Dysphagia Suspected to Result from Acute Oropharyngeal Palsy in which Balloon Dilation was Effective

VernacularTitle:Acute oropharyngeal palsyが疑われる重度嚥下障害を認めるもバルーン拡張法が奏功した1例
Author: Masamune EBARA ¹ ; Dai FUJIWARA ¹ ; Taiki ITO ² ; Ran KIGUCHI ¹ ; Yosuke TOMIYAMA ¹
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1. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Koeki Zaidan Hojin Miyagi Kosei Kyokai Saka General Hospital
2. Department of Internal Medicine & Rehabilitation Science, Disability Sciences, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine
Keywords: acute oropharyngeal palsy; dysphagia; diabetic ketoacidosis; balloon dilation
From:The Japanese Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine 2025;62(12):1252-1260
CountryJapan
Language:Japanese
Abstract: Acute oropharyngeal palsy is a rare subtype of Guillain-Barré syndrome. It is characterized by dysphagia and diminished deep tendon reflexes, while notably sparing limb muscle weakness and orbicularis oculi paralysis. Due to its rarity, dysphagia caused by acute oropharyngeal palsy may remain undiagnosed. We report a case of dysphagia that developed following diabetic ketoacidosis. The patient was a man in his 70s who was transported to our hospital by emergency services due to diabetic ketoacidosis. Severe dysphagia persisted despite the successful management of his diabetic ketoacidosis. Although the diagnosis was challenging, we established a diagnosis of acute oropharyngeal palsy based on physical examination findings and cerebrospinal fluid analysis results. We observed improvement in dysphagia caused by acute oropharyngeal palsy following balloon dilation therapy. We present this case to emphasize the importance of including acute oropharyngeal palsy in the differential diagnosis when evaluating patients with bulbar palsy.