Abstract
Patients with aspiration pneumonia often develop this lung infection due to poor oral
health or because the contents of the digestive tract or upper airway enter the lower
airway traversing the larynx through different mechanisms. Prevention of this condition
is directed at the mechanism by which it occurs. The elderly are the most likely to
suffer from aspiration pneumonia, occasionally due to issues related to poor dental
health, but more frequently due to abnormal swallowing, which may appear after a stroke,
a functional impairment related to aging, or may be part of a specific disease such
as Parkinson's disease or some other nervous system condition. People with dysphagia
complicated by pneumonia have limited feeding and become debilitated, and aspiration
pneumonia in these individuals has a high mortality rate at 90 days. Dietary modifications,
assistance with feeding, use of postures that facilitate a normal deglutition, rehabilitation,
and use of medications to improve swallowing defects are the tools of medicine to
overcome the obstacles to swallowing normally and prevent the development of aspiration
pneumonia and its consequences.
Keywords
swallowing defect - monitoring of impaired consciousness - care for the elderly -
correction of defective swallowing - dysphagia rehabilitation
