Characteristics of Aspiration Pneumonia and its Relationship with Environmental Factors

Abstract

A 26-year-old man who was in a coma after heavy drinking and vomiting was brought to the Emergency Department for rescue. With symptoms of shortness of breath and decreased degree of blood oxygen saturation, the patient received tracheal intubation and finally woke up, but he still felt obvious difficulty in breathing. The chest CT showed flocculent shadows in the right primary bronchus and middle lobe bronchus, and large white exudative shadows in the right upper lung ( Figure 1 ), thus the patient was diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia. Bronchoalveolar lavage ( Figure 2 and Figure 3 ), anti-infection and other timely and active treatment were performed immediately. Finally, the patient's lung infection was controlled and gradually improved ( Figure 4 ), and soon he was discharged from the hospital. In general, aspiration pneumonia occurs in both lower lungs due to the fall effect of gravity . However, in this case, the lesion was located in the upper right lung, which is special.