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Some patients have limited awareness of their dysphagia, so lack of the symptom does not exclude an underlying disease. [11] When dysphagia goes undiagnosed or untreated, patients are at a high risk of pulmonary aspiration and subsequent aspiration pneumonia secondary to food or liquids going the wrong way into the lungs.
A fluoroscopic swallow study can be done in cases where dysphagia or motility disorders are thought to be the source of aspiration. Food and drink are mixed with barium contrast and monitored using x-ray to evaluate swallowing. Aspiration can be diagnosed if contrast is seen coursing below the vocal cords into the trachea. [13]
Aspiration pneumonia is a type of lung infection that is due to a relatively large amount of material from the stomach or mouth entering the lungs. [1] Signs and symptoms often include fever and cough of relatively rapid onset. [1]
Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing with Sensory Testing (FEESST), or laryngopharyngeal sensory testing, is a technique used to directly examine motor and sensory functions of swallowing so that proper treatment can be given to patients with swallowing difficulties to decrease their risk of aspiration (food and liquids going into the lungs instead of the stomach) and choking.
Basic human airway anatomy. Objects can enter the trachea and lungs via the mouth or nose. Signs and symptoms of foreign body aspiration vary based on the site of obstruction, the size of the foreign body, and the severity of obstruction. [2] 20% of foreign bodies become lodged in the upper airway, while 80% become lodged in a bronchus. [6]
Megaesophagus may be caused by any disease which causes the muscles of the esophagus to fail to properly propel food and liquid from the mouth into the stomach (that is, a failure of peristalsis). Food can become lodged in the flaccid esophagus, where it may decay, be regurgitated , or maybe inhaled into the lungs (leading to aspiration ...
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). [6]
Food and liquid, including saliva, are retained in the esophagus and may be inhaled into the lungs . Untreated, mid-stage achalasia can fully obstruct the passage of almost any food or liquid – the greater surface area of the swallowed object often being more difficult to pass the LES/LOS (lower esophageal sphincter).