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Aspiration Pneumonitis
- Aspiration pneumonitis is an acute lung injury resulting from the aspiration of gastric contents
- It is an inflammatory condition rather than infectious
- Despite the inflammation, corticosteroids have been shown to have no effect on mortality
- Aspiration pneumonitis is self limited
- Antibiotics are generally held for 24 to 48 hours
- When to consider empiric broad spectrum antibiotics in the ED: Gastric contents are sterile in most patients. Patients who may have colonization/contamination of gastric contents are more likely to progress from pneumonitis to pneumonia. Consider empiric antibiotics for aspiration pneumonitis in the patient with SBO, gastroparesis, those receiving enteral feeds through a G- or J-tube, and those on chronic PPI's/antacids.