Brain & Neurorehabilitation  2009;2(2):103-107

doi:10.12786/bn.2009.2.2.103

Evaluation of Dysphagia.

Jin Woo PARK 1

Affiliations

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Keywords

deglutition disorders; dysphagia; endoscopy; evaluation; manometry; scale

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

English

Abstract

Dysphagia is common, especially in the elderly, and may cause dehydration, weight loss, aspiration pneumonia and airway obstruction. It may occur because of a wide variety of structural or functional conditions, including stroke, cancer, neurologic disease and gastroesophageal reflux disease. A thorough history and a careful physical examination are important in the diagnosis but investigations such as videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFS), fiberoptic endoscopic examination of swallowing (FEES) and manometry are more useful for confirming diagnosis, identifying the pathophysiology of a swallowing disorder and testing the therapeutic and compensatory techniques. This article reviews various evaluating methods for dysphagia.