Yolanda, an 88-year-old woman, is transferred from her residential care home to acute care for management of confusion and a reduced level of consciousness. She has a history of dementia, non–insulin-dependent diabetes, osteoporosis with compression fractures, mild chronic renal failure, and hypertension. On admission she is diagnosed with aspiration pneumonia in the right lower lobe and is tre...

We examined three intervention methods for their efficacy in preventing aspiration in 25 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and 23 patients with degenerative cerebellar ataxia (CA). On videofluoroscopic examination. 13 patients with PD (52%) and 7 patients with CA (30.4%) showed aspiration. In all PD patients and 5 patients with CA, no aspiration was observed after changing the food form. W...

BACKGROUND Dysphagia is one of the most dangerous symptoms of acute stroke. Various screening tools have been suggested for the early detection of this condition. In spite of conflicting results, measurement of oxygen saturation (SpO2) during clinical swallowing assessment is still recommended by different national guidelines as a screening tool with a decline in SpO2 ≥2% usually being regarded...

Effective interventions to reduce work-related exposures are available for many types of work-related diseases or injuries. However, knowledge of the impact of these interventions on injury or disease outcomes is scarce due to practical and methodological reasons. Study designs are considered for the evaluation of occupational health interventions on occupational disease or injury. Latency and ...

OBJECTIVES To compare aspiration and sclerotherapy using sodium tetradecylsulfate (STDS) with open hydrocelectomy in the treatment of hydroceles with regard to safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness. METHODS Patients with symptomatic hydroceles were prospectively enrolled in an aspiration and sclerotherapy protocol between October 1998 and June 2000. Patients in this group underwent percuta...

Dysphagia, the impairment of any part of the swallowing process, increases the risk of aspiration. Dysphagia and aspiration are associated with the development of aspiration pneumonia. While some changes in swallowing may be a natural result of aging, dysphagia is especially prevalent among older adults with neurologic impairment or dementia, leading to an increased risk of aspiration and aspir...

BACKGROUND Although work related risk factors associated with Cardiovascular Diseases (CD) have been well researched, there is no detailed knowledge regarding disparate occupational groups each with a different risk exposition. Therefore, two occupational groups (chefs and office workers) were compared with a focus on nutritional and psychosocial factors. METHODS Two groups of subjects were t...

BACKGROUND Aspiration can cause a diverse spectrum of pulmonary disorders some of which can lead to death but can be difficult to diagnose. PATIENTS AND METHODS The medical records and autopsy findings of 57 consecutive patients in whom aspiration was the immediate cause of death at Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN, USA) over a 9-yr period, from January 1 2004 to December 31 2012 were analyzed. R...

BACKGROUND Limited information exists about the nature of and factors associated with oropharyngeal aspiration (OPA) and silent aspiration (SA) in children. A prospective study was undertaken to determine the factors associated with fluoroscopically identified OPA and SA. METHODS Three hundred children presenting with feeding difficulties underwent a videofluoroscopic swallow study (VFSS) for...