Capacity of the Pectoralis Major Muscle May Be a Prognostic Factor for Aspiration Pneumonia

Objective: Aspiration pneumonia is thought to be caused by a decline in respiratoryand swallowing function. We aimed to clarify whether the pectoralismajor muscle and the rectus abdominis muscles are prognostic factors for aspirationpneumonia and to investigate the relationships between these musclesand nutritional status, swallowing function and sarcopenia, Methods: Medical records of 139 Japanese patients hospitalized for aspiration pneumoniabetween December 2010 and December 2014 were reviewed retrospectively.The volume and thickness of the pectoralis major muscle, the crosssectionalarea and thickness of the rectus abdominis muscles, and cross-sectionalarea of the psoas major muscle were measured using computed tomography.Swallowing function, nutritional status, activities of daily living, andprognosis also were evaluated. Results: The volume [Median: (left) 4713.2mm3 vs. 4232.6 mm3 (right) 4981.7 mm3 vs. 4362.6 mm3 p 3 vs. 3706.5 mm3 (right) 5650.3 mm3 vs. 4003.7 mm3 p 2 vs. 432.0 mm2 (right) 563.5 mm2 vs.446.3 mm2 p