Aspiration Pneumonia

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This page was written by Shelley Ensz and has not yet been medically edited. See Disclaimer.

Overview of Aspiration Pneumonia
Correlation with Lung Involvement
Diagnosis of Aspiration Pneumonia

Prevention
Autoimmune Interstitial Pneumonia
Personal Stories

Overview of Aspiration Pneumonia

Aspiration pneumonia occurs when vomitus or reflux gets into the lungs, causing an often deadly form of pneumonia. Anyone (with or without scleroderma) can get aspiration pneumonia. It often occurs in systemic scleroderma patients due to esophagus problems.

Aspiration Pneumonia. Aspiration (as-pi-RAY-shun) pneumonia happens when a liquid or an object is inhaled into the lungs. A common cause of aspiration pneumonia is inhaling (aspirating) acid or vomit from the stomach. HealthTouch OnLine.

Aspiration Pneumonia. This may lead to an inflammatory reaction, a lung infection (pneumonia), or a collection of pus in the lungs (lung abscess). MedLine Plus.

Shortness of Breath This worrisome symptom has many acute and chronic causes. Follow this flowchart for more information about the diseases in which shortness of breath occurs. familydoctor.org

Correlation with Esophageal and Lung Involvement

Centrilobular Fibrosis: An Underrecognized Pattern in Systemic Sclerosis. The impressive association of lung involvement and gastroesophageal reflux in scleroderma raises the possibility of a cause-effect relationship. (UnBound MedLine) de Souza RB. e Respiration 2008 Sep 18. (Also see: Reflux)

Esophageal Involvement is Correlated with Interstitial Lung Involvement (ILD) in Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) Patients. In our study, 100% of 25 unselected SSc patients showed some degree of GE disease by manometry. A significant correlation was shown between manometric parameters and the reduction of total lung capacity and DLCO. There may be simultaneous involvement in the natural course of the disease or esophageal involvement may favour aspiration phenomena and promote progression of ILD. E. Vesprini. FRI0104 EULAR 2005. (Also see: What is Scleroderma?, Esophageal Involvement, and Pulmonary Fibrosis)

Diagnosis of Aspiration Pneumonia

Symptoms include cough, coughing up sputum, and sometimes fever. The pneumonia will usually show up on chest x-ray, but a sputum culture will show that the pneumonia isn't caused by bacteria. Aspiration pneumonia should be suspected if a scleroderma patient has recurrent pneumonia. An estimated 30-50% of cases lead to death. However, mild cases may cause no symptoms at all.

Prevention of Aspiration Pneumonia

Preventive measures include carefully following your doctor's instructions for dealing with reflux (heartburn), such as taking medicines, elevating the head of the bed, and not eating near bedtime.

If you are instructed to elevate the head of your bed with bricks (a standard recommendation for reflux), do exactly that. Do not sleep sitting up, or propped up by several pillows, as this can worsen the problem by putting pressure on your stomach, thereby increasing the risk of aspiration pneumonia. See Reflux ISN.

Autoimmune Interstitial Pneumonia

A case of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage associated with interstitial pneumonia and systemic sclerosis. A necropsy specimen obtained from the left lung showed fibrosis, predominantly in peripheral areas of lobules, and accumulation of hemosiderin-laden macrophages, which findings were consistent with usual interstitial pneumonia and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage. We should be aware of this rare but serious complication in the management of interstitial pneumonia associated with systemic sclerosis. PubMed. Nihon Kokyuki Gakkai Zasshi. 2005 Jul;43(7):437-41. (Also see: Pulmonary Fibrosis)

Successful treatment with cyclosporine in a case of progressive interstitial pneumonia associated with systemic sclerosis. Prednisolone and cyclophosphamide were given to the patient, but clinical symptoms and chest radiographic findings worsened. After cyclophosphamide was replaced with cyclosporine, his symptoms, chest radiographic findings and pulmonary function improved and stabilized. PubMed. Nihon Kokyuki Gakkai Zasshi. 2003 Jul;41(7):480-5. (Also see: Medications)

Personal Stories about Aspiration Pneumonia

Bree: My Father Died from Aspiration Pneumonia I do not fully understand how or why this form of disease would cause a person to die...

Daphne: Daughter of Scleroderma/Polymyositis/Antisynthetase Syndrome Overlap Patient By early 2005, she began to exhibit Raynaud's phenomenon. She was also having swelling in her face, hands and feet...