It is also critical that supplemental feeding be extremely small in volume and frequent (every hour) as these infants are at
high risk of aspiration pneumonia when more than a drop or two at a time is fed.
The
low risk of aspiration is likely due to advances in anesthesia care, such as increased use of epidurals and spinal blocks instead of delivering anesthesia through a mask over the nose and mouth, the researchers said.
Risk of aspiration in a patient with a feeding tube can increase due to the level of sedation of the resident, the frequency of the suctioning of the tube, and the degree of the elevation of the head of the bed.
Although asking laboring mom's to refrain from eating is still standard practice, most midwives believe
the risk of aspiration is low and the benefits of eating outweigh this danger.
So if
the risk of aspiration with anesthesia only applies to women who end up with cesareans, then that same recommendation deprives the remaining number of women who don't have C - sections of quality nourishment during one of the most physically exhausting events of their lives.
There is no evidence that placing infants on the side during the first few hours of life promotes clearance of amniotic fluid and decreases
the risk of aspiration.
This increases
the risk of aspiration pneumonia.
Swimming must be observed very closely, as some dogs will splash so much that they increase
the risk of aspiration and should not be allowed to swim.
If an animal vomits food while under anesthesia,
the risk of aspiration is a concern.
Furthermore, inducing vomiting is not recommended in clinically depressed dogs because of
the risk of aspiration of the vomit which can lead to aspiration pneumonia.
The prognosis for dogs that have difficulty swallowing and chronic regurgitation is guarded, because those conditions increase
the risk of aspiration pneumonia dramatically.
During the next feeding, liquefied food is squirted into the throat instead of the stomach; and there is
a risk of aspiration into the lungs.
Unlike other feeding tubes, it can not be vomited and
the risk of aspiration is much lower.
Never induce vomiting in brachycephalic (short - nosed, smush - faced) breeds like Persian or Himalayan cats, or dog breeds like Pug, Pekingese, Bulldog, Lhasa Apso, and Shih Tzu, due to
the risk of aspiration (inhalation).
Patients should be told how to prepare for a colonoscopy so as to minimize
the risk of aspiration and other complications.