Motor Disorders of the Upper Digestive Tract Review. Aspiration Pneumonia.

Aspiration pneumonia is caused by materials inhaled into the lower respiratory tract, such as gastric juice or food particles. In adults, most of the patients have a swallowing disturbance such as bulbar palsy or a consciousness disturbance as well as a reduced cough reflex.Acute aspiration pneumonia caused by gastric juice is sometimes referred to as the“Mendelson syndrome”, which is a chemical injury to the broncho-alveolar epithelium and vascular endothelium. Food particles from the oral cavity or stomach, which are usually contaminated with resident bacteria from the oral cavity or pharynx, subsequently cause bacterial infections and sometimes even lung abscesses. One kind of chronic aspiration pneumonia which is similar to diffuse pan-bronchiolitis (DPB), is called diffuse aspiration bronchiolitis (DAB), is due to continuous small amount of aspiration.It is important to diagnose aspiration pneumonia immediately and to start its treatment at an early stage.