Stuart Spechler

How can I be sure that the patient has infectious esophagitis? Esophageal infections occur primarily in patients whose immune system has been compromised severely as, for example, by organ transplantation with the administration of potent immunosuppressive drugs, by acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), by chemotherapy, or by advanced malignancy. Although the esophagus is susceptible to infection…

Introduction Dysphagia is the sensation that something is impeding the normal passage of swallowed material. Patients with dysphagia often complain that ingested material “gets stuck” or “just won’t go down right.” Dysphagia can be caused by intrinsic disorders of the oropharynx and/or esophagus that mechanically narrow the lumen through inflammation, fibrosis, or neoplasia (e.g., peptic…