Can patients determine the level of their dysphagia?

Table 2 Accuracy in perceiving correct level of dysphagia correlated to final diagnosis

Diagnosis	Perceived single level (n)	Perceived diffuse level (n)	Absolute match
Achalasia	23	1	34.8%
Oesophageal cancer	243	27	47.3%
Peptic stricture	235	26	38.7%
Pharyngeal pouch	88	7	84.1%
Schatzki ring	66	9	40.9%

One patient perceived the obstruction as pharyngeal and had both pharyngeal (pouch) and distal (cancer) obstruction. Their data is not included in this table.