Objective To investigate the proportion of aspiration pneumonia cases among patients with community-acquired pneumonia in Korea.
Methods This retrospective study included patients with community-acquired pneumonia who had been admitted to the emergency department of a university-affiliated tertiary hospital in Gyeonggi Province, Korea between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016. Among these patients, those with aspiration pneumonia were identified using ICD-10 codes (J69.*). Patients with recurrent pneumonia were excluded, as were those who were immunocompromised. The proportion of cases of aspiration pneumonia was calculated, and the characteristics and clinical outcomes of patients with aspiration pneumonia and non-aspiration pneumonia were compared.
Results The proportion of aspiration pneumonia cases among patients with community-acquired pneumonia was 14.2%. Patients with aspiration pneumonia were significantly more likely to be older (p<0.001) and male (p<0.001), and to have a higher confusion, uremia, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and age ≥65 years (CURB-65) score (p<0.001) as compared to patients with non-aspiration pneumonia. They were also more likely to require admission to the intensive care unit (p<0.001) and a longer hospital stay (p<0.001).
Conclusion Aspiration pneumonia accounts for 14.2% of all cases of community-acquired pneumonia in Korea. These data may contribute to the establishment of healthcare strategies for managing aspiration pneumonia among Korean adults.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Supporting People with Swallowing Problems in Home Care Ed M. Bice, Christine Brandel, Debra Suiter, Kristine E. Galek Home Healthcare Now.2026; 44(1): 7. CrossRef
Aspiration Pneumonia Versus Community Acquired Pneumonia: Differences in Clinical Characteristics, Functional Status, and Mortality Predictors Kou Chin, Shuntaro Hiro, Momo Hirata, Mari Inoue, Ryo Nagasawa, Hiroshi Ishi, Yu Hara Journal of Clinical Question.2026; 3(1): e102. CrossRef
Factors driving outcome variability in aspiration and community-acquired pneumonia: a meta-analysis Jordi Almirall, Ramón Boixeda, Mari C. de la Torre, Marcial Cariqueo, Antoni Torres European Respiratory Review.2025; 34(178): 250037. CrossRef
Criteria for diagnosing aspiration pneumonia in Japan – A scoping review Akihito Ueda, Kanji Nohara Respiratory Investigation.2024; 62(1): 128. CrossRef
Predictors and impact of aspiration pneumonia in patients undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy: national inpatient sample 2016–2020 Jay Patel, Aalam Sohal, Hunza Chaudhry, Shivam Kalra, Isha Kohli, Ishandeep Singh, Dino Dukovic, Juliana Yang European Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology.2024; 36(3): 298. CrossRef
Investigating in VigiBase over 6000 cases of pneumonia in clozapine-treated patients in the context of the literature: focus on high lethality and the association with aspiration pneumonia Jose de Leon, Can-Jun Ruan, Georgios Schoretsanitis, Alejandro G. Villasante-Tezanos, Edoardo Spina, Emilio J. Sanz, Moisés Betancort, Carlos De las Cuevas Expert Opinion on Drug Metabolism & Toxicology.2024; 20(8): 857. CrossRef
Morbidity and mortality risks associated with valproate withdrawal in young adults with epilepsy Gashirai K Mbizvo, Tommaso Bucci, Gregory Y H Lip, Anthony G Marson Brain.2024; 147(10): 3426. CrossRef
Clinical Practice Guidelines for Oropharyngeal Dysphagia Seoyon Yang, Jin-Woo Park, Kyunghoon Min, Yoon Se Lee, Young-Jin Song, Seong Hee Choi, Doo Young Kim, Seung Hak Lee, Hee Seung Yang, Wonjae Cha, Ji Won Kim, Byung-Mo Oh, Han Gil Seo, Min-Wook Kim, Hee-Soon Woo, Sung-Jong Park, Sungju Jee, Ju Sun Oh, Ki De Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine.2023; 47(Suppl 1): S1. CrossRef
Clinical Practice Guidelines for Oropharyngeal Dysphagia Seoyon Yang, Jin-Woo Park, Kyunghoon Min, Yoon Se Lee, Young-Jin Song, Seong Hee Choi, Doo Young Kim, Seung Hak Lee, Hee Seung Yang, Wonjae Cha, Ji Won Kim, Byung-Mo Oh, Han Gil Seo, Min-Wook Kim, Hee-Soon Woo, Sung-Jong Park, Sungju Jee, Ju Sun Oh, Ki De Journal of the Korean Dysphagia Society.2023; 13(2): 77. CrossRef
Advancing healthcare through thoracic ultrasound research in older patients Simone Scarlata, Chukwuma Okoye, Sonia Zotti, Fulvio Lauretani, Antonio Nouvenne, Nicoletta Cerundolo, Adriana Antonella Bruni, Monica Torrini, Alberto Finazzi, Tessa Mazzarone, Marco Lunian, Irene Zucchini, Lorenzo Maccioni, Daniela Guarino, Silvia Fabbr Aging Clinical and Experimental Research.2023; 35(12): 2887. CrossRef
The current definition, epidemiology, animal models and a novel therapeutic strategy for aspiration pneumonia Shinji Teramoto Respiratory Investigation.2022; 60(1): 45. CrossRef
Predictive value of the videofluoroscopic swallowing study for long-term mortality in patients with subacute stroke Daham Kim, Jae-Hyung Kim, Si-Woon Park, Hyung-Wook Han, Sang Joon An, Yeong In Kim, Hyo Jin Ju, YoonHee Choi, Doo Young Kim Medicine.2022; 101(4): e28623. CrossRef
Incidence and Predictors of Aspiration Pneumonia Among Traumatic Brain Injury in Northwest Ethiopia Sahlu Mitku Shiferaw, Emiru Ayalew Mengistie, Getasew Mulatu Aknaw, Abraham Tsedalu Amare, Kefyalew Amogne Azanaw Open Access Emergency Medicine.2022; Volume 14: 85. CrossRef
Cause-specific mortality in Korea during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic Jinwook Bahk, Kyunghee Jung-Choi Epidemiology and Health.2022; 44: e2022110. CrossRef
Predictors of Aspiration Pneumonia in the Elderly With Swallowing Dysfunction: Videofluoroscopic Swallowing Study Joo Young Ko, Dae Youp Shin, Tae Uk Kim, Seo Young Kim, Jung Keun Hyun, Seong Jae Lee Annals of Rehabilitation Medicine.2021; 45(2): 99. CrossRef
A
Post Hoc
Analysis of Two Phase III Trials Showing the Efficacy and Tolerability of Ceftobiprole in East Asian Patients
Haihui Huang, Lei Gao, Marc Engelhardt, Mikael Saulay, Kamal Hamed Future Microbiology.2021; 16(11): 783. CrossRef
Respiratory viral infections in pragmatically selected adults in intensive care units Cong-Tat Cia, I-Ting Lin, Jen-Chieh Lee, Huey-Pin Tsai, Jen-Ren Wang, Wen-Chien Ko Scientific Reports.2021;[Epub] CrossRef
Comparison of Different Scoring Systems for Prediction of Mortality and ICU Admission in Elderly CAP Population Chunxin Lv, Yue Chen, Wen Shi, Teng Pan, Jinhai Deng, Jiayi Xu Clinical Interventions in Aging.2021; Volume 16: 1917. CrossRef
Trend of Antibiotic Usage for Hospitalized Community-acquired Pneumonia Cases in Korea Based on the 2010–2015 National Health Insurance Data Bongyoung Kim, Rangmi Myung, Myoung-jae Lee, Jieun Kim, Hyunjoo Pai Journal of Korean Medical Science.2020;[Epub] CrossRef
Risk factors for aspiration pneumonia in patients with dysphagia undergoing videofluoroscopic swallowing studies Joon Woo Kim, Hyoseon Choi, Jisang Jung, Hyun Jung Kim Medicine.2020; 99(46): e23177. CrossRef
First
Prev
