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Health Dictionary

Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.

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Dysphagia barium swallow

Introduction

Overview

Overview

Among patients with dysphagia, barium study is considered the preferred method for evaluating patients as it allows assessment of function of the upper gastrointestinal tract and morphology.

Barium Swallow

Barium Swallow

Modified barium swallow study

  • Conducted by a speech pathologist in conjunction with a radiologist:[1][2][3][4]
  • Different consistencies of liquid and food mixed with barium sulfate are fed to the patient by spoon, cup or syringe, and x-rayed using videofluoroscopy
  • Penetration aspiration scale describes the disordered physiology of a person’s swallow using the numbers 1-8

Findings

Barium swallow study helps in diagnosing the underling etiology of patients presenting with dysphagia such as:

  • Dysphagia in patients with
    • History of surgery for laryngeal or esophageal cancer
    • History of radiation or irritating injury
  • Achalasia
  • Zenker’s diverticulum, a barium swallow should be performed first instead of endoscopy to prevent any perforation.
  • Achalasia
  • Stricture
Barium swallow appearance of DES
Source:By Nevit Dilmen [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)
Case courtesy of Dr Mario Umana, Radiopaedia.org, rID: 38071
Source: Barium swallow showing esophageal cancer. Case courtesy of Dr Andrew Dixon, <a href=”https://radiopaedia.org/“>Radiopaedia.org</a>. From the case <a href=”https://radiopaedia.org/cases/9907“>rID: 9907</a>
References

References

  1. ↑ Chen, Yu Men; Ott, David J.; Gelfand, David W.; Munitz, H. Alexander (1985). “Multiphasic examination of the esophagogastric region for strictures, rings, and hiatal hernia: Evaluation of the individual techniques”. Gastrointestinal Radiology. 10 (1): 311–316. doi:10.1007/BF01893119. ISSN 0364-2356.
  2. ↑ Rosenbek, J. C., Robbins J. A., Roecker, E. B., Coyle, J. L., & Wood, J. L. (1996). A penetration aspiration scale. “Dysphagia, 11,” 93-98.
  3. ↑ Logemann, Jeri A.; Pauloski, Barbara Roa; Rademaker, Alfred; Cook, Barbara; Graner, Darlene; Milianti, Frank; Beery, Quinter; Stein, David; Bowman, Julia; Lazarus, Cathy; Heiser, Mary Anne; Baker, Theresa (1992). “Impact of the diagnostic procedure on outcome measures of swallowing rehabilitation in head and neck cancer patients”. Dysphagia. 7 (4): 179–186. doi:10.1007/BF02493468. ISSN 0179-051X.
  4. ↑ Levine, Marc S.; Rubesin, Stephen E. (2017). “History and Evolution of the Barium Swallow for Evaluation of the Pharynx and Esophagus”. Dysphagia. 32 (1): 55–72. doi:10.1007/s00455-016-9774-y. ISSN 0179-051X.

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Feham Tariq, MD [2], Hamid Qazi, MD, BSc [3]