Abnormal sensation in the throat and autonomic nerve dysfunction symptoms

Abstract

Abnormal sensations, such as a lump, itchiness or choking, in the throat (AST) may develop as symptoms of autonomic nerve dysfunction (AND). If this is true, the subjects with AST should show more subjective symptoms and objective signs of AND than those without AST. We classified 500 otolaryngological and neurological patients [172 males and 328 females, age 58.4 +/- 14.0 years (mean +/- SD)] with various signs and symptoms suggesting autonomic nerve dysfunction into 2 groups: 370 patients with AST (AST group) and 130 without AST (non-AST group). For the subjective evaluation of AND symptoms, we calculated the number of positive answers to 33 questions concerning AND symptoms which appear in the Cornell Medical Index (Health Questionnaire). Objective evaluation of AND was done by analyzing the coefficient of variation (%) of 100 R-R intervals on electrocardiograms [CV R-R (%)], as previous studies by others have shown that CV R-R (%) decreases with age and/or with the severity of autonomic nerve dysfunction. The following results were obtained in the comparison between the two groups. 1) There were significantly more complaints of AND symptoms in the AST group (7.3 +/- 5.5, mean +/- SD) than in the non-AST group (5.3 +/- 4.4) (p < 0.0005 by Wilcoxon test). 2) The relative CV R-R (%) value calculated by dividing the CV R-R (%) actually obtained by the formula [5.13 - 0.0419 x age of subject (years)] was significantly smaller in the AST group (0.98 +/- 0.40) than in the non-AST group (1.06 +/- 0.39) (p < 0.05 by Wilcoxon test).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)