What it means
In everyday nursing it most often means material going down the "wrong way" into the tracheaTRAY-kee-uhThe windpipe: the tube that carries air from the throat to the lungs.Full entry and lungs instead of the esophagusih-SOF-uh-gusThe muscular tube that carries food and liquid from the throat to the stomach.esophag/o esophagusFull entry . It can cause coughing and choking, or happen silently, and can lead to aspiration pneumonia. Clients with dysphagiadis-FAY-jee-uhDifficulty swallowing.dys- difficultphag/o eat, swallow-ia conditionFull entry , a low level of consciousness, a stroke or a feeding tube are most at risk. The word also names a procedure: removing fluid or tissue through a needle or suction, as in a needle aspiration.
For the nurse
Sit the client upright for meals and for 30 minutes after, give the diet texture and thickened liquids ordered, and watch for coughing, a wet or gurgly voice and choking while eating. Keep the head of the bed raised for clients with tube feedings, and keep suction ready.
In a chart
"Coughing and wet voice after thin liquids; held further intake and requested a swallow evaluation."
At a glance
| Spanish | aspiración |
|---|---|
| Also written | aspirations, aspirate, aspirated |
Related terms
nasogastric tube
A thin, flexible tube passed through the nose and down the esophagus into the stomach.
pneumonia
An infection of one or both lungs in which the air sacs fill with fluid or pus.
dysphagia
Difficulty swallowing.
airway
The passages that carry air into and out of the lungs, from the nose and mouth to the smallest air tubes.