Image characteristics and classification of salivagram in the diagnosis of pulmonary aspiration in children.

PURPOSE: A salivagram is a common method capable of detecting pulmonary aspiration. This investigation focused on describing the characteristics of salivagram and classifying the image to increase the clinical value of this imaging method.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was carried out of 428 patients (aged 1-36 months, mean age 4.5 months) diagnosed with respiratory tract infection and suspect pulmonary aspiration subjected to a salivagram, and the resulting images were classified on the basis of their features.

RESULTS: The positive rate of aspiration was 24.5% (105 of 428); 53.3% (56 of the 105) of the aspiration patients showed unilateral aspiration and 46.7% (49 of the 105) of the aspiration patients showed bilateral aspiration. In the initial images (appearing within the first 10 min) from the 105 patients showing aspiration, 59% (62 of 105) were from the airway and 82.9% (87 of 105) were from the stomach. The images were classified by grade (0-4) according to the degree of the aspiration, where a higher grade of aspiration is related to a longer course of disease (P=0.041; R=0.919).

CONCLUSION: A deeper understanding of the image characteristics is helpful for those seeking to further utilize salivagram. The creation of an image classification system allows for image information to be more accurately expressed and can guide clinical diagnosis and treatment.