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Dysphagia in AIDS

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Normal and Abnormal Swallowing

Abstract

Since the onset of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic, complaints of dysphagia have been noted among these patients. Dysphagia is noted both early and late among patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease, and it has been described in prospective studies in up to 47% of AIDS patients (1). These patients frequently are infected with opportunistic organisms and/or have opportunistic neoplasms, any of which can involve the oral cavity, hypopharynx, or esophagus, and result in dysphagia. Because of the location, infection and early tumor may cause symptomatology that would otherwise not be notable in more distal sites of the gastrointestinal tract. Furthermore, some AIDS-related infections and/or neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract may be treated with subsequent palliation of the patient’s discomfort. Dysphagia and odynophagia are symptoms that can decrease food intake significantly, thereby worsening the nutritional status of the patient. Correct diagnosis of the cause of these symptoms may have important prognostic consequences (2). Therefore, to detect pathology that might be treatable, it is important for the radiologist to respond to complaints of dysphagia with an evaluation of swallowing function as well as morphology of the oral cavity, hypopharynx, and esophagus. This is important because in contrast to other causes of debilitation in AIDS, dysphagia and odynophagia frequently are symptoms of treatable disorders of the esophagus (2).

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Authors
  1. Maya D. Meux
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  2. Susan D. Wall
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, 21287, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Bronwyn Jones MD, FRACP, FRCR (Professor of Radiology, Director) (Professor of Radiology, Director)

  2. The Johns Hopkins Swallowing Center, 21287, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Bronwyn Jones MD, FRACP, FRCR (Professor of Radiology, Director) (Professor of Radiology, Director)

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© 2003 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Meux, M.D., Wall, S.D. (2003). Dysphagia in AIDS. In: Jones, B. (eds) Normal and Abnormal Swallowing. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-22434-3_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-22434-3_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-2904-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-22434-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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