Dysphagia: Thinking outside the box

Table 3 Rheumatological causes of dysphagia

Condition	Description
Scleroderma[52]	Distal oesophageal dysmotility, part of the CREST syndrome
Sjogren’s syndrome[49]	Xerostomia limits bolus lubrication and food passage, proximal oesophageal dysmotility
Rheumatoid arthritis[45]	Proximal oesophageal dysmotility. Always consider and rule out associated cervical spine disease
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)[45]	Proximal oesophageal dysmotility
Degenerative cervical spine disease, surgery on the cervical spine and diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH)[48,54]	Anterior cervical osteophytes cause extrinsic compression of the oropharynx and proximal oesophagus