DYSPHAGIA INDUCED BY CHRONIC INGESTION OF BENZODIAZEPINE

We report a case of a 57-yr-old woman with a complaint of dysphagia of 2-wk duration. She had rheumatoid arthritis and had been taking 10 mg of prednisone and 2 mg of lorazepam daily for 2 yr. Radiologic examin ation showed partial retention of barium sulfate in the pharynx, which was confirmed by scintigraphic examination of the oral and pharyngeal phases of swallowing. This retention was about 47% of the volume swal lowed. The benzodiazepine was withdrawn, and 2 wk later she had no sym ptoms. We repeated the scintigraphic study, and it showed no retention , We conclude that chronic ingestion of benzodiazepine may cause dysph agia.