Nursing in the treatment of swallowing phobia in childhood and adolescence: a literature review

Abstract

Introduction: swallowing phobia is characterized by the fear of choking when ingesting food, liquids or pills. Although it is a disorder considered minor and of low prevalence within the eating disorders of childhood and adolescence, in recent years an increase in its incidence has been observed in the child and youth stage. Method: publications of the last 20 years (1995-2015) were analysed, which include a total of 42 cases with swallowing phobia, compiling the main clinical and therapeutic variables. Results: this disorder appears to be more common among the female sex in childhood, with high comorbidity with other disorders, especially anxiety. There is a traumatic history in 57.1% of the sample, and different treatments based on cognitive-behavioural therapy and pharmacological treatment have proven effective, with complete recovery in 80% of cases. The contribution of nursing to the therapeutic plan is not mentioned in most of the publications. Conclusions: it is essential to include the disorder in the differential diagnosis of eating disorders in childhood, and for it to be known by primary care nurses, in order to identify it specifically and to be able to establish an appropriate early multidisciplinary treatment that improves therapeutic outcomes.