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Document Details : Title: Aspiration pneumonia: an underestimated cause of severe respiratory failure in patients with haematological malignancies and severe oral mucositis? Author(s): DE NEVE NY, BENOIT DD, DEPUYDT PO, OFFNER FC, NOLLET J, NOENS LA, DECRUYENAERE JM Journal: Acta Clinica Belgica Volume: 65 Issue: 6 Date: 2010 Pages: 416-419 DOI: 10.2143/ACB.65.6.1002449 Abstract : Aspiration pneumonia is rarely considered in the differential diagnosis of respiratory failure in patients suffering from haematologic malignancies in daily practice. We describe four patients who were admitted with severe respiratory failure in the ICU over a one-year-period prospective survey (a total of 72 patients with haematological malignancies of which 34 presented with respiratory failure). All of these patients had chemotherapy-induced severe oral mucositis (WHO grade III-IV) for which three of them received opioids. All had a history of cough after oral rinsing and two of them experienced sudden brief desaturation in the days before ICU referral. Two of these patients, both in allogeneic bone marrow transplant setting, died. With this data, we want to draw the attention to the diagnosis of aspiration pneumonia in this group of patients. |
