Aspiration in patients in critical care units.

Pulmonary aspiration is a serious cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with a depressed sensorium, patients with neuromuscular discoordination, or patients having a structural disorder of the upper aerodigestive tract. This problem is relatively frequent in patients in critical care units and other areas where anesthesia is used. The most common manifestations of pulmonary aspiration are chemical pneumonitis, pleuropulmonary infection, and acute airway obstruction. The clinical and radiographic manifestations of pulmonary aspiration are nonspecific and diagnosis depends on a consistent constellation of clinical and radiographic criteria.