Pharyngeal constrictor paresis: an indicator of neurologic disease?

Pharyngeal constrictor paresis (PHCP) is sometimes found in videoradiography of the swallowing act in patients complaining of dysphagia. Ten patients with PHCP and 10 dysphagic, age- and sex-matched controls with normal videoradiography were neurologically evaluated and examined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and brainstem in order to learn the pathogenetic process behind PHCP. The study revealed 8 PHCP patients and 1 dysphagic control with abnormal clinical neurological findings such as myopathy, cerebrovascular disease, or extrapyramidal disease. The neurological examination revealed considerable information of prognostic and therapeutic value in PHCP patients. The MRI was abnormal in 7 PHCP patients and 4 dysphagic controls. However, the findings in MRI were nonspecific but the examination was found to be valuable in selected cases. It is concluded that PHCP is an indicator of neurological disease and accordingly, such patients should be examined by a neurologist to establish the cause of the disease.