2023-05-06 15:00:00
Before surgery and anesthesia, there is a guide at the hospital. It means to visit on an empty stomach. Fasting before anesthesia is required even in operations such as gastroscopy, which requires direct examination of the stomach, scaling and male orchiectomy, which are not open surgeries that operate on organs in the abdominal cavity. Therefore, sometimes there are guardians who are curious regarding the reason for fasting, and this is to prevent aspiration pneumonia. Aspiration pneumonia is a disease in which vomit from the esophagus enters the respiratory tract when unconscious vomiting or regurgitation occurs. It is not a problem only in surgery or anesthesia, and can occur in situations where multiple vomiting or regurgitation occurs. Today, we would like to learn regarding this disease called aspiration pneumonia.
Normally, small amounts of fluid or bacteria are aspirated into the airways of healthy animals, but infection is prevented by normal airway clearance mechanisms. However, when a clear solid or liquid substance is aspirated into the lungs, this is called aspiration pneumonia. Aspiration pneumonia is a common side effect in regurgitated animals. Giant esophagus and reduced motility of the esophagus are the most common causes of reflux, and it can also occur in animals with anatomical abnormalities of the pharynx, such as laryngeal paralysis, cleft palate, or brachycephalic syndrome. In addition, it may be caused by aggressive forced feeding of mentally degraded animals and vomiting of animals under anesthesia.
Lung damage caused by aspiration can be caused by severe chemical damage caused by gastric acid, airway obstruction, and inflammatory reactions caused by various factors such as infection. Dogs and cats affected by aspiration pneumonia show severe respiratory symptoms. Forced breathing often occurs, and symptoms such as anorexia and loss of energy appear together. Aspiration pneumonia is diagnosed through chest radiography, auscultation, and inflammation tests. After pneumonia is diagnosed, check whether there is a history of vomiting or regurgitation through medical examination or symptom observation. The possibility is highly evaluated in animals in which forced breathing is observed following vomiting. Anatomically, aspiration pneumonia often shows alveolar infiltration in the right middle lobe and left anterior lobe of the lung on chest radiographs.
Animals with severe respiratory distress require oxygenation, fluid therapy, antibiotic treatment, bronchodilators, and treatment with glucocorticoids. The most important thing in breathing difficulties is oxygen supply. In addition, fluid treatment to prevent shock, appropriate antibiotic administration through vein, and use of bronchodilators are the main treatment methods. If the response to antibiotic treatment is weak, a short-acting glucocorticoid is also used at a low dose (anti-inflammatory dose).
The prognosis will vary depending on the degree of food spillage, but severe aspiration pneumonia has a high possibility of death even with very aggressive treatment. However, if appropriate treatment is given from the beginning of the symptoms, the chances of recovery are higher.
Aspiration pneumonia is more common in young dogs and cats. As such, vomiting or regurgitation symptoms of young companion animals may cause immediate serious problems. For this reason, companion animals with symptoms such as vomiting and regurgitation must be treated promptly, so if the above symptoms appear, please visit the veterinary hospital as soon as possible.
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