RT Book, Section
A1 Fitzpatrick, Meghan E.
A1 Prendergast, Niall T.
A1 Rivera-Lebron, Belinda
A2 Papadakis, Maxine A.
A2 McPhee, Stephen J.
A2 Rabow, Michael W.
A2 McQuaid, Kenneth R.
SR Print(0)
ID 1193146448
T1 Pulmonary Aspiration Syndromes
T2 Current Medical Diagnosis & Treatment 2023
YR 2023
FD 2023
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9781264687343
LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1193146448
RD 2024/04/25
AB Acute  aspiration  of  gastric  contents  may  be  catastrophic.  The  pulmonary  response  depends  on  the  characteristics  and  amount  of  gastric  contents  aspirated.  The  more  acidic  the  material,  the  greater  the  degree  of  chemical  pneumonitis.  Aspiration  of  pure  gastric  acid  (pH  <  2.5)  causes  extensive  desquamation  of  the  bronchial  epithelium,  bronchiolitis,  hemorrhage,  and  pulmonary  edema.  Acute  gastric  aspiration  is  one  of  the  most  common  causes  of  ARDS.  The  clinical  picture  is  one  of  abrupt  onset  of  respiratory  distress,  with  cough,  wheezing,  fever,  and  tachypnea.  Crackles  may  be  audible  at  the  bases  of  the  lungs.  Hypoxemia  may  be  noted  immediately  after  aspiration  occurs.  Radiographic  abnormalities,  consisting  of  patchy  alveolar  opacities  in  dependent  lung  zones,  appear  within  a  few  hours.  If  particulate  food  matter  has  been  aspirated  along  with  gastric  acid,  radiographic  features  of  bronchial  obstruction  may  be  observed.  Fever  and  leukocytosis  are  common  even  in  the  absence  of  infection.