Dysphagia

Dysphagia is "difficulty in swallowing which may result from neuromuscular disorder or mechanical obstruction. Dysphagia is classified into two distinct types: oropharyngeal dysphagia due to malfunction of the pharynx and upper esophageal sphincter; and esophageal dysphagia due to malfunction of the esophagus."

Diagnosis
Dysphagia among stroke patients is suggested by the following test:
 * 1) First check the patient for "swallowing complaints, abnormalities of voice quality, facial asymmetry, or either expressive or receptive aphasia." If none is detected then go to step 2.
 * 2) Have the patient drink 10 mL of water from a cup without a straw while seated upright while oxygenation saturation is monitored during and for 2 minutes after the test. Check whether the patient
 * 3) * "Coughed or choked during the water drinking or had a change in voice quality after the swallow".
 * 4) * Oxygenation drops by 2% or more.

In this small study of 84 patients, this two-step test detected 96% of patients with dysphagia as compared to testing by a speech pathologist.