Important Things To Know Concerning Aspiration Pneumonia Prevention

By Jose Nelson


Aspiration pneumonia is simply a disease which is as a result of inhaling oropharyngeal or even some kind of gastric content into the lower respiration tract. Those patients in long term care are always at a higher risk of getting infected with this type of an infection when compared to those individuals who are living in their societies. There has been a huge emphasis on aspiration pneumonia prevention as it has significantly risen although there is treatment specifically for those adults who have infections in their lower respiration tracts.

Aspiration pneumonia can actually be defined as inhalation of either the gastric or oropharyngeal content into the lower part of tract of respiration. Those individuals who are in LTC have shown a greater potential of acquiring this type of disease as to when compared to those individuals living in their communities.

Some common consequential syndromes which occur due to aspiration include, pneumonia, pneumonitis as well as abscess. There are always some factors which are mostly associated with aspiration pneumonia some of which include dysphagia, poor oral hygiene without forgetting some form of medication.

Recognizing and addressing these kinds of risk factors is highly recommended as a method of protecting both the well-being together with the health of the vulnerable individuals. Firstly lets figure out how dysphagia can be addressed. Dysphagia simply refers to a subjective sensation of either abnormality or even difficulty especially in swallowing.

The feet of the patient need to be flat on the surface. If one can be able to flex the head just slightly forward so as to make sure that the chin is dropping downwards, this is extremely recommended especially for those individuals who have neurologic defects like brain tumors.

Interdisciplinary approach is basically one of method which dysphagia can be successfully managed as it tends to include nursing staff and their assistants, dietitians, physicians and language pathologists as well. The major focus of this kind of an approach is to largely maximize the safety of oral feeding especially when it has been compromised or interfered with.

There have been several interventions which have been successfully used in managing dysphagia which typically involves dietary modification, swallowing therapy and tube feeding. Poor oral hygiene is another area of concern which demands to be keenly addressed as one strategy of managing aspiration. Generally poor oral hygiene has significant impact on the general health of an individual without forgetting the risk of pneumonia and aspiration as well.

Various barriers which tend to actually inhibit oral care from being offered to individuals with higher risk usually includes poor staff education, some resistant behaviors especially among residents together with low levels of accountability of nurses involved in offering oral care to such residents. So as to overcome such barriers a multidisciplinary method which involves hygienists, dentists together with competent nursing assistants is extremely essential.




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