Dysphagia referrals to a district general hospital gastroenterology unit: hard to swallow

Dysphagia
Elizabeth Mary-Ann MelleneyCharles Peter Willoughby

Abstract

The aim of our study was to audit dysphagia referrals received by a specialist gastroenterology unit during an entire year. We used a prospective audit carried out over a 12-month period at the District General Hospital gastroenterology unit. The audit included 396 consecutive patients who were referred with swallowing difficulties. We found that 60 referrals (15.2%) were inaccurate and the patients had no swallowing problem. Of the 336 patients with genuine dysphagia, only 29 (8.6%) were new cancer cases. The large majority of subjects had benign disease mostly related to acid reflux. Weight loss was significantly associated with malignancy but also occurred in one third of patients with reflux alone. The temporal pattern of dysphagia was not significantly predictive of cancer. All the cancer patients were above the age of 50 years. Although patients were in general assessed rapidly after hospital referral, the productivity, in terms of early tumor diagnosis, was extremely low. We conclude that there is a substantial rate of inaccurate referrals of dysphagia patients. Most true cases of swallowing difficulty relate to benign disease. Even the devotion of considerable resources to the early diagnosis of esophago gastric maligna...Continue Reading

Citations

Dec 12, 2012·Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research : a Publication of Dietitians of Canada = Revue Canadienne De La Pratique Et De La Recherche En Diététique : Une Publication Des Diététistes Du Canada·Klara LorincziDiana R Mager
Sep 13, 2012·World Journal of Gastroenterology : WJG·Iain A MurrayHarry R Dalton
Jan 5, 2014·Dysphagia·Iain Alexander MurrayHarry R Dalton
Jan 24, 2012·Revista clínica española·J RianchoC Valero
Aug 26, 2010·The British Journal of Surgery·E RhatiganJ N Plevris

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Atrophic Gastritis

Atrophic Gastritis is a process where gastric glandular cells are lost and replaced with firbous tissues, as a result of chronic inflammation. Learn more about Atrophic Gastritis here.

Related Papers

European Archives of Oto-rhino-laryngology : Official Journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : Affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
T O SeidlerT Hacki
Joint, Bone, Spine : Revue Du Rhumatisme
Salih OzgocmenOzge Ardicoglu
© 2021 Meta ULC. All rights reserved