Aspiration Pneumonia

What is aspiration pneumonia?

Aspiration (as-pi-RAY-shun) pneumonia (noo-MOH-nyah) happens when a liquid or an object is inhaled into the lungs. A common cause of aspiration pneumonia is inhaling (aspirating) acid or vomit from the stomach. Having food, drink, or saliva (spit) from your mouth go into your lungs can also cause aspiration pneumonia. When these things go into the lungs, it can damage (hurt) the lungs, or cause a blockage. This damage or blockage may cause swelling and fluid in the lungs. It can also cause an infection (in-FECK-shun) in the lungs, such as bacterial (bak-TEE-ree-al) pneumonia.

Who is most at risk for getting aspiration pneumonia?

• Having trouble swallowing or coughing increases your risk of getting aspiration pneumonia. Your risk of getting pneumonia and having swallowing problems increases as you age. Many health problems that affect muscles or nerves can increase the risk of aspiration pneumonia. Examples include a stroke, a head injury, seizures, multiple sclerosis, or Parkinson disease. Problems with your esophagus (ee-SOF-ah-gus) can also increase your risk of aspiration pneumonia. Your esophagus, or "food pipe," carries food from your mouth to your stomach. People who are unconscious because of anesthesia (an-es-THEE-zah) or a medical problem may choke or aspirate. Becoming less alert due to certain drugs or alcohol, or overdosing on drugs increases your chance of having aspiration pneumonia.
  
  
• You may be more likely to get pneumonia if you have a lung disease such as asthma or emphysema (em-fi-SEE-mah). You are more likely to get pneumonia and other lung infections if you smoke. Having a long-term medical condition (such as heart failure) may also increase your risk of getting pneumonia. If you have to stay in bed for a long time, such as after an injury or surgery, you have a greater chance of getting pneumonia. You may be more likely to get pneumonia if you have a long-term drinking problem (alcoholism), or if you have a poor diet.

What are the signs and symptoms of swallowing problems?

It may be hard to tell if you or someone you care for has a problem with swallowing. Tell a caregiver if you notice the following signs of a swallowing problem.

• Drooling, or having food or fluid leak out of the nose.
  
  
• Having food left over in the mouth after swallowing.
  
  
• Feeling pain when swallowing, or feeling like something is stuck in the throat.
  
  
• Having to make unusual movements of the head or neck when swallowing.
  
  
• Coughing or choking a lot when eating or drinking.
  
  
• A wet or gurgle-like voice after swallowing.

What are the signs and symptoms of aspiration pneumonia?

Sometimes it may take a few days for symptoms of aspiration pneumonia to begin. The signs and symptoms of aspiration pneumonia can get worse very quickly. The signs and symptoms that you have may depend on what you inhaled into your lungs, and how much was inhaled. Common signs and symptoms may include one or more of the following:

• Frequent coughing. Your cough may bring up bad-smelling mucus from your lungs. This phlegm (flem) may have pus or streaks of blood in it. You may also cough up frothy (bubbly) fluid from your lungs.
  
  
• Shortness of breath or noisy breathing. Your heartbeat or breathing (while resting) may seem much faster than normal.
  
  
• Fever or chills. You may sweat a lot.
  
  
• Chest pain when you cough or take a deep breath.
  
  
• Trouble swallowing, or you feel like something is stuck in your throat.
  
  
• Feeling dizzy, faint, or having new trouble thinking (confusion). You may feel upset or anxious.
  
  
• Feeling like you cannot get enough air. Your skin, lips, or fingernails may turn dusky or blue.

How is aspiration pneumonia diagnosed?

Your caregiver will examine you and listen to your heart and lungs through a stethoscope (STETH-oh-skohp). You may need tests such as blood tests or a chest x-ray. You may need different tests to find out more about how well you swallow. These tests may include swallowing studies, or special tests of your throat or esophagus. Special x-ray pictures, such as a barium swallow, may be needed to see what happens when you swallow. You may need an endoscopy (en-DOS-koh-pee) to find or treat a swallowing problem. During an endoscopy, your caregiver uses a small tube with a light on the end (called a scope). The scope lets your caregiver see your throat, esophagus, and stomach.

How is aspiration pneumonia treated?

You may need to stay in the hospital to get better from aspiration pneumonia. You may need oxygen and special medicines to help your lungs. You may need medicine to help reduce the acid in your stomach or to help food move through your stomach faster. You may need antibiotics (an-ti-bi-AH-tiks) to prevent or treat an infection caused by bacteria (bak-TEE-ree-ah). You may need a machine to help you breathe. If you inhaled something solid, you may need a bronchoscopy (brong-KOS-ke-pee) to remove it. This procedure uses a small, flexible scope that is passed through your mouth and into your lungs. You may need special caregivers to help decrease your chance of inhaling something into your lungs again. A speech and language pathologist (pah-THOL-oh-jist) or an occupational (ok-u-PAY-shun-al) therapist may help find and treat swallowing problems. A dietitian (deye-e-TISH-an) can help you plan easy-to-swallow meals to decrease your risk of choking.

Risks:

Aspiration pneumonia can be serious, even life threatening. You may get a lung infection that may spread to the bloodstream or other areas of your body. You may get other life threatening problems such as respiratory failure (when you cannot breathe without the help of a machine). Pneumonia is even more dangerous for people over the age of 50, and people with immune system or other health problems. It may take a long time to get better after having aspiration pneumonia. The sooner your pneumonia is treated, the less chance you have of problems.

For more information:

Contact the following for more information about aspiration pneumonia:

• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
  P.O. Box 5801
  Bethesda , MD 20824
  Phone: 1- 301 - 496-5751
  Phone: 1- 800 - 352-9424
  Web Address: http://www.ninds.nih.gov
  

• American Lung Association
  1301 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
  Washington , DC 20004
  Phone: 1- 202 - 785-3355
  Phone: 1- 800 - 548-8252
  Web Address: http://www.lungusa.org
  

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  1600 Clifton Road
  Atlanta , GA 30333
  Phone: 1- 404 - 6393311
  Phone: 1- 800 - 3113435
  Web Address: http://www.cdc.gov
  

Care Agreement

You have the right to help plan your care. Learn about your health condition and how it may be treated. Discuss treatment options with your caregivers to decide what care you want to receive. You always have the right to refuse treatment.

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The above information is an educational aid only. It is not intended as medical advice for individual conditions or treatments. Talk to your doctor, nurse or pharmacist before following any medical regimen to see if it is safe and effective for you.

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