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. 2022 Oct 18;7(5):115.
doi: 10.3390/geriatrics7050115.

Pneumonia, Aspiration Pneumonia, or Frailty-Associated Pneumonia?

Affiliations

Pneumonia, Aspiration Pneumonia, or Frailty-Associated Pneumonia?

David G Smithard et al. Geriatrics (Basel). .

Abstract

Pneumonia is a common reason for admission afflicting frail older adults. Those who are the frailest are more likely to be provided with a diagnosis of aspiration pneumonia. This diagnosis has no clear definition and no clinical consensus. It is therefore time to stop attempting to differentiate between pneumonia type and use the term frailty-associated pneumonia.

Keywords: aspiration; dysphagia; frailty; frailty-associated pneumonia; pneumonia.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mechanism of increased infection risk in older frail adults.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Frailty–pneumonia cycle. BMR: Basal metabolic rate.

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