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Review
. 2022 Apr;35 Suppl 1(Suppl 1):73-77.
doi: 10.37201/req/s01.17.2022. Epub 2022 Apr 22.

Aspiration pneumonia

M S Niederman  1 , C Cilloniz
Affiliations
Review

Aspiration pneumonia

M S Niederman et al. Rev Esp Quimioter. 2022 Apr.

Abstract

The growing population of older people worldwide represents a great challenge for health systems. The elderly are at increased risk of infectious diseases such as pneumonia, which is associated with increased morbidity and mortality related mainly to age-related physiological changes in the immune system (immunosenescence), the presence of multiple chronic comorbidities, and frailty. In pneumonia, microaspiration is recognized as the main pathogenic mechanism; while macroaspiration which refers to the aspiration of a large amount of oropharyngeal or upper gastrointestinal content passing through the vocal cords and trachea into the lungs is identified as "aspiration pneumonia". Although there are strategies for the prevention and management of patients with pneumonia that have been shown to be effective in older people with pneumonia, more research is needed on aspiration pneumonia, its risk factors and outcomes, especially since there are no specific criteria for its diagnosis and consequently, the studies on aspiration pneumonia include heterogeneous populations.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors declare no conflicts of interest

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A) The chest X-ray shows an alveolar inflitrate at right lower lobe, in a 86 year-old patient with moderate cognitive impartiment. The patient live in a nursing-home, present episodes of vomiting and was disoriented. B) The chest X-ray shows a bilateral lung infiltrates, respiratory failure, and acute respiratory distress in a 80 year-old patient with repetive episodes of aspiration.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Risk Factors for Aspiration Pneumonia
Figure 3
Figure 3
Algorithmic approach to antibiotic therapy for aspiration pneumonia [1].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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