Pill swallowing in Parkinson's disease: A prospective study based on flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing.

Background: This study evaluates the prevalence, characteristics, and predictors of the difficulty of swallowing medication in Parkinson's disease (PD).

Methods: In this prospective controlled, cross-sectional cohort study, the ability to swallow four different placebos was assessed using flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) in 118 PD patients and 32 controls. The association between a patient's swallowing ability for each pill and water, patient characteristics and dopaminergic response was examined.