How To Diagnose And Treat Aspiration Pneumonia

Aspiration pneumonia is a serious lung infection. It occurs due to an individual aspirating or inhaling liquid, food, or vomit down into the airways and lungs. Liquid or food already in an individual's stomach that regurgitates up their esophagus can aspirate into their lungs. Aspiration pneumonia develops when an individual cannot cough up the substance aspirated into the lungs, and bacteria begin to colonize. Symptoms include wet or dry cough, pink or frothy sputum, fever, difficulty swallowing, rapid heartbeat, voice changes, appetite loss, blue fingertips, alterations in alertness, breathlessness, chest pain, and weight loss. 

Patients need to receive prompt aspiration pneumonia treatment. Thankfully, there are several options available to them for this purpose. Patients may need some antibiotics to treat the infection. Corticosteroids for aspiration pneumonia are also common. Many patients can also benefit from breathing machine assistance. Of course, patients should undergo the diagnostic process and review all their options to ensure they receive the best treatment for aspiration pneumonia.

Sputum Culture

One of the tests that doctors will use if they suspect that patients have a lung issue, including aspiration pneumonia, is a sputum culture. They usually order this test when patients display symptoms like a cough, chest pain, fever, breathing problems, and fatigue. A sputum culture is relatively simple, as patients need to cough deeply to loosen and bring up sputum from their lungs. Drinking a significant amount of water can help.

A doctor can tap on the patient's chest to help loosen the sputum so that when they cough, it comes up. They may also ask patients to inhale a steam-like mist to loosen the sputum. Once they have the sample, it is sent to the lab for testing, which is where a condition like aspiration pneumonia could be revealed.

Reveal more ways in which this condition is diagnosed now.