Diagnosis and Treatment of Phagophobia: A Review

This narrative review summarizes published studies on diagnostic examinations and therapeutic interventions for phagophobia. The electronic databases Embase, PubMed, PsycINFO(A (R)), and The Cochrane Library were used. The literature search was limited to publications in the English, German, French, Spanish, or Dutch language. The original articles are summarized in the present narrative review. The body of literature on phagophobia and swallowing fear remains very limited; only 12 studies were found. The present narrative review discovered heterogeneity in the definitions of phagophobia or similar syndromes. A systematic review, including a qualitative analysis, was planned but not carried out as studies were not of sufficient quality to warrant doing so. All the studies had severe methodological shortcomings. In general, the conclusions could not be compared across the studies because of the different study designs, small populations, different ways of evaluating and treating phagophobia, and complex combinations of treatments. A general conclusion is provided.