The article “Predictors of Aspiration Pneumonia: How Important is Dysphagia?” describes a study conducted to compare the risks of factors in multiple different categories that could potentially lead to aspiration pneumonia. Aspiration pneumonia is a prevalent issue in the elderly generation. Figuring out the risk factors that can cause aspiration pneumonia will enlighten health care providers with what precautions to take in order to prevent aspiration pneumonia. The participants in this study were 189 elderly men over the age of 60 that came from outpatient clinics, inpatient acute care wards, and a nursing home care center. 29 men without current medical issues were used as control subjects. One hundred and sixty men had medical diagnoses including stroke, neurologic problems, gastrointestinal disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, and/ or congestive heart failure. One hundred and twelve of these subjects had more than one of those medical diagnoses. …show more content…
A Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing assessed pharyngeal swallowing and laryngeal competence. The results of these examinations were recorded and the subjects were followed for up to four years to assess whether or not they developed aspiration pneumonia. To find the most relevant predictors of aspiration pneumonia, four models of different categories of subjects were developed. The four categories were medical state parameters, swallowing and nutritional intake parameters, functional status parameters, and oral and dental parameters. Each model consisted of several measures in order to collect more accurate