Rx Note

Introduction Dysphagia is the symptom of difficulty or discomfort during swallowing . Oropharyngeal dysphagia - Difficulty initiating swallowing or coordinating the movement of food or liquid from the mouth to the upper esophagus. Esophageal dysphagia - Difficulty transporting the food or liquid through the esophagus into the stomach. The 3 most significant consequences of dysphagia are Choking risk Aspiration pneumonia Malnutrition Common Causes Optimally, the assessment of swallowing function is performed by a speech therapist or speech language pathologist. The most common cause of oropharyngeal dysphagia is neurological , associated with conditions such as stroke or Parkinson disease, and swallowing can also be affected by drugs such as antipsychotics, barbiturates, anticholinergics, diuretics and mucosal anesthetics. Dysphagia occurring after stroke is reversible or improvable in a majority of cases; however, dysphagia associated with dementia or Parkinson disease has a poore...