Recent Advances in Rehabilitation for Aspiration Pneumonia.
Respiration and swallowing are intimately related to each other. The respiration center and the
swallowing center in the brain stem are located very closely and the activation of each center
inhibits the other center in a very sophisticated way. Therefore, the rehabilitation for aspiration
pneumonia should be the combination of pulmonary and dysphagia rehabilitations. Dysphagia
rehabilitation includes food modification, oral hygiene, indirect and direct training, and positioning.
Since the rehabilitation for aspiration pneumonia is covered in the wide range, the rehabilitation is a comprehensive intervention. The best strategy to achieve the comprehensive interventions is making the multidisciplinary team with various medical amenities. The decision to stop and start eating should be made by concluding under multidisciplinary discussion. The construction of the system towards dysphagia is a key of successful rehabilitation for aspiration pneumonia.
Since the rehabilitation for aspiration pneumonia is ranging from oral care to nutritional intervention, the rehabilitation should be the comprehensive intervention. The best strategy to
achieve the comprehensive interventions is making the multidisciplinary team consisting of rehabilitation doctor, otolaryngologist, neurologist, dentist, speech therapist, dietitian, pharmacist,
social worker, and nurses certified in dysphagia treatment.
It is also important to set the link nurse who take care of the swallowing status of in-patients in each ward. The link nurse frequently consults dysphagia certified nurses and should have the responsibility for indirect rehabilitation in the ward. The well build construction of the system
toward dysphagia is a key of successful rehabilitation for aspiration pneumonia.
Pulm Res Respir Med Open J. 2017; SE(2): S54-S56. doi:10.17140/PRRMOJ-SE-2-108
