University of Washington Private Event: Understanding Dysphagia-Related Aspiration Pneumonia
Participation
This course is a live event hosted by University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle, Washington on Saturday, October 21, 2023.
Course Summary
As the saying goes, we fear what we do not understand. SLPs and other medical professionals often fear the term “aspiration” for its correlation with pneumonia, a disease process associated with mortality in elderly, acutely ill, and immunocompromised patients. However, fear of prandial aspiration has resulted in an (often unnecessary) shift toward overly stringent measures to prevent it, unfortunately leading to a cascade of medical complications outside of pneumonia, including poor patient quality of life. Since the likelihood of development of dysphagia-related aspiration pneumonia is as individual as the host, clinicians managing dysphagia must learn to assess aspiration pneumonia risk on an individual level. In this course, we will understand our patients’ unique probability of developing aspiration pneumonia by understanding normal and pathologic lung defenses against aspiration, host risk factors for opportunistic infection, and characteristics of aspirated boluses that may yield complication. We will explore a variety of neurologic, cardiopulmonary, and gastrointestinal disease processes and their potential impact on pneumonia development. Through this understanding, we will fear not aspiration events, but poorly-informed decision-making regarding the management of aspiration in patients with disordered swallowing. With a comprehensive understanding of dysphagia-related aspiration pneumonia development, we can improve our patients’ outcomes while preserving their dignity and quality of life.
Learner Objectives
1. To explain two processes of lung defense against aspiration events
2. To describe three host characteristics that increase risk for aspiration-related complication
3. To list three bolus variables that increase risk for development of dysphagia-related
aspiration pneumonia
Agenda
Saturday, October 21, 2023
7:30-8:00 am: Registration
8:00-9:00 am: Dysphagia, pneumonia, & pneumonitis
9:00-10:00 am: Host defense mechanisms
10:00-10:15 am: Break
10:15-12:15 pm: Assessing pneumonia risk: general health & medical conditions
12:15-1:00 pm: Lunch
1:00-2:00 pm: Assessing pneumonia risk: oral health, dependence for activities of daily living, & iatrogenic factors
2:00-3:00 pm: Assessing pneumonia risk: bolus variables
3:00-3:15 pm: Break
3:15-4:30 pm: Case studies
4:30-5:15 pm: Question & answer session
Speaker Biography
Kelsey Day, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S is an acute care Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) and Board-Certified Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders who specializes in dysphagia management for the medically complex, critically ill, and tracheostomy dependent populations. She currently serves as the Lead SLP in a trauma and stroke center in downtown Los Angeles, where she supervises a team of nine acute care SLPs. Kelsey prides herself on fostering strong physician relationships and investing in new program development, which facilitate state-of-the-art care for her patients. She demonstrates her commitment to the education of medical SLPs through her mentorship and supervision of graduate student clinicians and Clinical Fellows in the acute care setting. She is a guest lecturer at several graduate-level SLP programs, visiting faculty at university hospital systems around the country, and invited international keynote speaker.
Disclosures
Financial:
Salary from California Hospital Medical Center
Ownership of Acute SLP Education, LLC, which collects tuitions from course registrations
Prior honoraria from UAB Medical Center and Atlantic Health System for presentation of this course content
Non-financial:
None