Causes of dysphagia in a tertiary-care swallowing center

Objectives:Dysphagia can be caused by a myriad of disease processes, and it has significant impacts on patients' quality of life, life expectancy, and economic burden. To date, the most common causes of dysphagia in outpatient tertiary-care swallowing centers are unknown. We undertook this study to determine these prevalences. We also describe the diagnostic techniques utilized to establish the diagnosis.Methods:The electronic charts of 100 consecutive patients who presented to an outpatient tertiary-care university swallowing center between January 2010 and April 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. Information regarding patient demographics, validated symptom surveys, diagnostic workups, and ultimate diagnoses was abstracted and tabulated into a central database. Descriptive statistics were used to evaluate the association between patient symptoms and diagnoses.Results:The mean age of the entire cohort was 62 ± 13.5 years, and 58% of the cohort was male. The most common identified causes of dysphagia wer...