Medical Case Reports

Elderly Man Presenting with Dysphagia and Weight Loss: A Case Report

Introduction: This case report demonstrated an unexpected event in the course of observing or treating a patient presented with dysphagia. Case presentation: An 89-year-old gentleman was admitted for esophageal dysphagia, vomiting and weight loss. Despite presenting with typical symptoms of an esophageal carcinoma, he was not offered upper endoscopy, but rather, barium swallow and then acid suppression therapy was given. The diagnosis was only reached 3 months after initial symptom onset by a PET-CT showing a locally advanced esophageal carcinoma. The cancer was no longer amenable to surgery at the time of diagnosis. Conclusion: This case report demonstrated the importance of a timely upper endoscopy when esophageal cancer was a likely diagnosis. It carries major impact on primary care physicians who serve as the first tier in managing patients with ‘red flag’ features.

Author(s):

Lung Yi Mak, Tuen Ching Chan and Felix Hon Wai Chan

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