Aspiration pneumonia: Management in Spain

Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a common condition among the elderly but not systematically explored. Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a highly prevalent clinical finding in elderly patients with pneumonia and is an indicator of disease severity in older patients with pneumonia. Dysphagia may cause a decrease in deglutition safety, leading to tracheobronchial aspiration which results in aspiration pneumonia. Clinical screening methods should be used to identify older people with oropharyngeal dysphagia and to identify those patients who are at risk of aspiration. Videofluoroscopy (VFS) is the gold standard to study the oral and pharyngeal mechanisms of dysphagia in older patients. Diagnosis and management of oropharyngeal dysphagia need a multidisciplinary approach. There are two kinds of specific preventive interventions: the first focuses on reducing the colonization of bacteria in the mouth and nasopharynx, and the second on preventing aspiration. © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS and European Union Geriatric Medicine Society. All rights reserved.