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Neurologic Impairment and Disability Status in Outpatients with Multiple Sclerosis Reporting Dysphagia Symptomatology

Department of Otolaryngology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York

Labe C. Scheinberg

Department of Neurology, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York

Charles R. Smith

Multiple Sclerosis Care Center, St. Agnes Hospital, White Plains, New York

Nicholas G. LaRocca

Multiple Sclerosis Care Center, St. Agnes Hospital, White Plains, New York

Five hundred and twenty-five consecutive outpatients with a confirmed diagnosis of multiple sclerosis were screened for symptoms of dysphagia. Forty percent of the sam ple acknowledged that they had swallowing problems. Forty-three percent of the sam ple reported symptoms suggestive of dysphagia, including coughing (26%), choking (19%), anxiety about swallowing (19%), and change in swallowing function (11%), with 11% currently having difficulty swallowing. No differences were found between the age and sex distributions of the symptomatic MS subjects and the total sample of outpatients with MS studied. Comparative analyses found that the symptomatic sub jects were significantly more disabled as measured by the Extended Disability Status Scale and had significantly greater impairment to cerebellar, brainstem, and mental (cognitive) function as measured by the Functional Systems scale than the MS sub jects asymptomatic for dysphagia on self-report. Higher report of dysphagic symptoms and mental and cerebellar dysfunction differentiated the symptomatic subjects who were having difficulty swallowing from those who were swallowing with ease at the time of report. Key Words: Multiple sclerosis—Dysphagia—Deglutition disorder.

Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, Vol. 11, No. 1, 7-13 (1997)
DOI: 10.1177/154596839701100102


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