history from an individual with dysphagia often provides important clues to the underlying cause of the dysphagia.
The nature of the symptom or symptoms provides the most important clues to the cause of dysphagia. Swallowing that is difficult to initiate or that leads to nasal regurgitation, cough, or choking is most likely due to an oral or pharyngeal problem. Swallowing that results in the sensation of food sticking in the chest (esophagus) is most likely due to an esophageal problem.
Dysphagia that progresses rapidly over weeks or a few months suggests a malignant tumor. Dysphagia for solid food alone suggests a physical obstruction to the passage of food, whereas dysphagia for both solid and liquid food is more likely to be caused by a disease of the smooth muscle of the esophagus. Intermittent symptoms also are more likely to be caused by diseases of smooth muscle than obstruction of the esophagus since dysfunction of the muscle often is intermittent.
Preexisting diseases also provide clues. Those with diseases of skeletal muscle (for example, polymyositis), the brain (most commonly stroke), or the nervous system are more likely to have dysphagia on the basis of dysfunction of the oropharyngeal muscles and nerves. People with collagen vascular diseases, for example, scleroderma, are more likely to have problems with the esophageal muscles, especially ineffective peristalsis.
Patients with a history of GERD are more likely to have esophageal strictures as the cause of their dysphagia, though about 20% of patients with strictures have minimal or no symptoms of GERD before the onset of dysphagia. It is believed that reflux that occurs at night is more injurious to the esophagus. There also is a higher risk of esophageal cancer among individuals with long-standing GERD.
Loss of weight can be a sign of either severe dysphagia or a malignant tumor. More often than losing weight, people describe a change in their eating pattern—smaller bites, additional chewing—that prolongs meals so that they are the last one at the table to finish eating. This latter pattern, if present for a prolonged period of time, suggests a non-malignant, relatively stable or slowly progressive cause for the dysphagia. Episodes of chest pain that are not due to heart disease suggest muscular diseases of the esophagus. Birth and residence in Central or South America is associated with Chagas disease.