Aspiration pneumonia (patient information)

(Condition)
Overview
What are the symptoms?
What are the causes?
Who is at highest risk?
Diagnosis
When to seek urgent medical care?
Treatment options
Where to find medical care for (Condition)?
Prevention
What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?
Possible complications
(Condition) On the Web
Ongoing Trials at Clinical Trials.gov
Images of (Condition)
Videos on (Condition)
FDA on (Condition)
CDC on (Condition)
(Condition) in the news
Blogs on (Condition)
Directions to Hospitals Treating (Condition)
Risk calculators and risk factors for (Condition)

Template:WikiDoc Sources For the WikiDoc page for this topic, click here

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-In-Chief:; Assistant Editor(s)-In-Chief:

Overview

Aspiration pneumonia is inflammation of the lungs and airways to the lungs (bronchial tubes) from breathing in foreign material. Aspiration pneumonia occurs when foreign materials (usually food, liquids, vomit, or fluids from the mouth) are breathed into the lungs or airways leading to the lungs. This may lead to:

• A collection of pus in the lungs (lung abscess)
• Swelling and inflammation in the lung
• A lung infection (pneumonia)

What are the symptoms?

• Bluish discoloration of the skin caused by lack of oxygen
• Chest pain
• Cough

o With foul-smelling phlegm (sputum) o With sputum containing pus or blood o With greenish sputum

• Fatigue
• Fever
• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing

Other symptoms that can occur with this disease:

• Breath odor
• Excessive sweating
• Swallowing difficulty

Who is at highest risk?

Patients with decreased immunity.

When to seek urgent medical care?

Call your health care provider, go to the emergency room, or call the local emergency number (such as 911) if you have:

• Chest pain
• Chills
• Fever
• Shortness of breath
• Wheezing

Diagnosis

A physical examination may reveal:

• Crackling sounds in the lungs
• Decreased oxygen
• Rapid pulse (heart rate)

The following tests may also help diagnose this condition:

• Arterial blood gas
• Blood culture
• Bronchoscopy
• Chest x-ray
• Complete blood count (CBC)
• CT scan of the chest
• Sputum culture
• Swallowing studies

Treatment options

Some people may need to be hospitalized. Treatment depends on the severity of the pneumonia. You may receive antibiotics, which treat bacteria. Some people may get special antibiotics to treat bacteria that live in the mouth. The type of bacteria that caused the pneumonia depends on:

• Your health
• Where you live (at home or in a long-term nursing facility, for example)
• Whether you've recently been hospitalized
• Recent antibiotic use

You may need to have your swallowing function tested. Patients who have trouble swallowing may need to use other feeding methods to reduce the risk of aspiration.

Where to find medical care for (Condition)?

Directions to Hospitals Treating Condition

What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?

The outcome depends on:

• The severity of the pneumonia
• The type of bacteria causing the pneumonia
• How much of the lungs are involved

If acute respiratory failure develops, the patient may have a long-term illness or die. Many people who have aspiration pneumonia have other serious health problems, which may affect the outlook for recovery.

Possible complications

• Acute respiratory distress syndrome
• Low blood pressure
• Pneumonia with lung abscess
• Shock
• Spread of infection to the bloodstream (bacteremia)
• Spread of infection to other areas of the body

Sources

This is where put your categories, such as Category:Patient information and Category:Cardiology patient information.

Please note: Category:Patient information should have lower case i

Prohibited Categories: Patient Information, Gastroentrology, Inborn errors of metabolism patient information, Inborn errors of metabolism