Dysphagia is a dysfunction of the digestive system that consists in the difficulty in swallowing and / or in allowing the correct transit of the bolus in the upper digestive tract; it almost always occurs as a consequence of other obstructive or motor disorders. The causes of dysphagia can be of the following type:
- ENT, caused by pharyngeal infections and benign and malignant neoplasms
- digestive, due to esophageal tumors, gastroesophageal reflux, achalasia
- neurological, attributable to pathologies such as cerebral vasculopathies, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
Depending on the level of severity, the consistencies of food and drink are adjusted according to the ability to chew and swallow. The consequences can be dehydration, malnutrition, aspiration pneumonia and suffocation.