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Aspiration pneumonia
 
 
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Aspiration pneumonia is bronchopneumonia
Bronchopneumonia

Bronchopneumonia is a type of pneumonia characterized by multiple foci of isolated, acute consolidation, affecting one or more pulmonary lobes....
 that develops due to the entrance of foreign materials that enter the bronchial tree, usually oral or gastric contents (including food, saliva, or nasal secretions). Depending on the acidity of the aspirate, a chemical pneumonitis can develop, and bacterial pathogens (particularly anaerobic bacteria) may add to the inflammation.

ration pneumonia is often caused by an incompetent swallowing
Swallowing

"Gulp" redirects here. For other uses, see Gulp .Swallowing, known scientifically as deglutition, is the process in the human or animal body that makes something pass from the mouth, to the pharynx, into the esophagus, with the shutting of the epiglottis....
 mechanism, such as occurs in some forms of neurological disease (a common cause being strokes) or while a person is intoxicated
Drunkenness

Drunkenness or inebriation is the state of being intoxicated by consumption of alcoholic beverages to a degree that mental and physical faculties are noticeably impaired and/or skewed....
.






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Aspiration pneumonia is bronchopneumonia
Bronchopneumonia

Bronchopneumonia is a type of pneumonia characterized by multiple foci of isolated, acute consolidation, affecting one or more pulmonary lobes....
 that develops due to the entrance of foreign materials that enter the bronchial tree, usually oral or gastric contents (including food, saliva, or nasal secretions). Depending on the acidity of the aspirate, a chemical pneumonitis can develop, and bacterial pathogens (particularly anaerobic bacteria) may add to the inflammation.

Causes

Aspiration pneumonia is often caused by an incompetent swallowing
Swallowing

"Gulp" redirects here. For other uses, see Gulp .Swallowing, known scientifically as deglutition, is the process in the human or animal body that makes something pass from the mouth, to the pharynx, into the esophagus, with the shutting of the epiglottis....
 mechanism, such as occurs in some forms of neurological disease (a common cause being strokes) or while a person is intoxicated
Drunkenness

Drunkenness or inebriation is the state of being intoxicated by consumption of alcoholic beverages to a degree that mental and physical faculties are noticeably impaired and/or skewed....
. An iatrogenic cause is during general anaesthesia
General anaesthesia

In modern medical practice, general anaesthesia is a state of total unconsciousness resulting from general anaesthetic drugs. A variety of drugs are given to the patient that have different effects with the overall aim of ensuring unconsciousness, amnesia and analgesia....
 for an operation
Surgery

Surgery is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, to help improve bodily function or appearance, or sometimes for some other reason....
 and patients are therefore instructed to be nil per os
Nil per os

Nil per os is a medical instruction meaning to withhold oral food and fluids from a patient for various reasons. It is a Latin phrase which translates as "nothing through the mouth"....
 (NPO) (aka Nothing By Mouth) for at least four hours before surgery.

Whether aspiration pneumonia represents a true bacterial infection or a chemical inflammatory process remains the subject of significant controversy. Both causes may present with similar symptoms.

Implicated bacteria

When bacteria are implicated, they are usually of the anaerobic oral flora:
  • Bacterioides
  • Prevotella
    Prevotella

    Prevotella is a genus of bacteria."Bacteroides melaninogenicus" has recently been reclassified and split into Prevotella melaninogenica and Prevotella intermedia....
  • Fusobacterium
    Fusobacterium

    Fusobacterium is a genus of filamentous, Anaerobic organism, Gram-negative bacteria, similar to Bacteroides.Fusobacterium contribute to several human diseases, including periodontal diseases, Lemierre's syndrome, and topical skin ulcers....
  • Peptostreptococcus
    Peptostreptococcus

    Peptostreptococcus is a genus of Anaerobic organism, Gram-positive, non-Endospore forming bacterium. The cell are small, Cocci, and can occur in short chains, in pairs or individually....


They may also be admixed with aerobic bacteria:
  • Streptococcus pneumoniae
    Streptococcus pneumoniae

    Streptococcus pneumoniae, or pneumococcus, is a Gram-positive, Hemolysis diplococcus aerotolerant anaerobe and a member of the genus Streptococcus....
  • Staphylococcus aureus
    Staphylococcus aureus

    Staphylococcus aureus is the most common cause of staph infections. It is a spherical Bacteria, frequently found in the nose and skin of a person....
  • Haemophilus influenzae
    Haemophilus influenzae

    Haemophilus influenzae, formerly called Pfeiffer's bacillus or Bacillus influenzae, is a non-motile Gram-negative coccobacillus first described in 1892 by Richard Friedrich Johannes Pfeiffer during an influenza pandemic....
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa
    Pseudomonas aeruginosa

    Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common bacterium which can cause disease in animals and humans. It is found in soil, water, and most man-made environments throughout the world....


Location

The location is often gravity dependent, and depends on the patient position. Generally the right middle and lower lung lobes are the most common sites of infiltrate formation due to the larger caliber and more vertical orientation of the right mainstem bronchus. Patients who aspirate while standing can have bilateral lower lung lobe infiltrates. The right upper lobe is a common area of consolidation in alcoholics who aspirate in the prone position.

See also

  • Dysphagia
    Dysphagia

    Dysphagia is the medical term for the symptom of difficulty in swallowing. Although classified under "symptoms and signs" in ICD-10, the term is sometimes used as a condition in its own right....
  • Meconium aspiration syndrome
    Meconium aspiration syndrome

    Meconium aspiration syndrome occurs when infants take meconium into their lungs during or before delivery. Meconium is the first stool of an infant, composed of materials ingested during the time the infant spends in the uterus: intestinal epithelial cells, lanugo, mucus, amniotic fluid, bile, and water....
  • Nosocomial pneumonia