Introduction:

Cricopharyngeal achalasia (CA) is a rare cause of dysphagia in children. Clinical manifestations are diverse and nonspecific, which leads to delay in the diagnosis. Radiological studies, such as esophagogastroduodenal transit, constitute the gold standar to achieve diagnosis.

Clinical case:

Female infant of a month of life with failure to thrive. At feeding, she sucks greedily, but immediately begins to accumulate milk in the mouth, getting to expel it through the nose and, sometimes, she coughs. On physical examination, her weight was found in percentile 2. In esophagogram, a decrease in the caliber of the upper esophagus was observed with proximal dilation, nasal regurgitation and the contrast medium passing into the respiratory tract. Nasogastric tube feeding was started and, after two months of life, two pneumatic dilations were performed without success. Subsequently, after five months, crichiotomy was performed, which resulted in a complete resolution of the symptomatology.

Conclusions:

CA is a rare congenital anomaly, but it can be diagnosed by esophagogastroduodenal transit. In children, treatment is not clearly defined.