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Chronic Sore Throat

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Functional Illness of the Head and Neck

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Abstract

Sore throat is a common complaint in otolaryngology, and it has a wide range of etiologies. These include infectious, pathophysiological, environmental, and functional sources. For chronic sore throat, organic cause must be ruled out before a functional diagnosis can be made. In this chapter, a differential of possible causes of functional sore throat are explored. This includes burning mouth syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, glossopharyngeal neuralgia, eagle syndrome, hyoid syndrome, functional globus sensation, muscle tension dysphonia, and psychogenic sore throat. Functional sore throat does not have time-sensitive mortality nor morbidity, thus a step-by-step conservative approach should be made. Additionally, it is important to have a multidisciplinary approach for many of these diseases, as there are roles for psychologists, speech language pathologists, and occupational therapists in their management.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Western University, London, ON, Canada

    Kevin Fung

  2. PGY1, Department of Family Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, ON, Canada

    Andrew James MacDonald

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  1. Kevin Fung
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  2. Andrew James MacDonald
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Correspondence to Kevin Fung .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Otolaryngology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada

    Brian W. Blakley

  2. Winnipeg, MB, Canada

    Joan E. Blakley

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Fung, K., MacDonald, A.J. (2023). Chronic Sore Throat. In: Blakley, B.W., Blakley, J.E. (eds) Functional Illness of the Head and Neck. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12998-8_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-12998-8_11

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