The Effect of Chlorpromazine on the Swallowing Function in Chronic Schizophrenic Patients
ALLEN E. HUSSAR M.D.1, and
DAVID G. BRAGG M.D.2
1 Chief, medical service, and associate chief of staff for research, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Veterans Administration Hospital, Montrose, N. Y. 10548
2 Assistant professor of radiology, Cornell University Medical College and New York Hospital, and chief of diagnostic roentgenology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, N. Y.
In a cineradiographic study of swallowing in four groups of subjects, it was found that chlorpromazine had no effect on the swallowing mechanism in schizophrenics. Half of the schizophrenic patients showed cineradiographic abnormalities in swallowing. These results contribute to an understanding of sudden deaths due to asphyxiation by food frequently ascribed to tranquilizing medication in schizophrenic patients.
