Dysfunction of the cricopharyngeal muscle. A cineradiographic study of patients with dysphagia.

Of 250 consecutive patients with dysphagia studies by cineradiography, 55 (22%) had dysfunction of the cricopharyngeal muscle, indicated by an indentation of the pharyngo-esophageal junction during swallowing. The indentation measured less than 25% of the esophageal diameter in 29 patients, less than 50% in 18, and greater than 50% in 8 and was transient in 36 patients and continuous in 19. In 35 patients, abnormalities of swallowing were seen, including pharyngeal constrictor paresis [8], epiglottic dysfunction [17], misdirected swallowing [23], and esophageal webs [19]. Cineradiography during swallowing is important in the diagnosis, since dysfunction is often overlooked on a routine examination.