Will lungs inflammation and swelling due to trauma heal?
Patient: hello my name is elizabeth and me and my husban lisban were in a car accident recently, he is currently in the hospital with inflamed lungs (swolen lungs) the doctors say that the cause of it was because during the car accident he vomited and swollowed it and went to his lungs, will he be ok? Doctor: It depends on the severity of the injury. What they are likely referring to is aspiration pneumonitis. Sometimes this is mild and only causes minor symptoms like coughing. On the other hand, sometimes this can be very severe and require breathing on a ventilator. His prognosis depends largely on the severity of the inflammation currently. If there is diffuse damage to both lungs, it implies severe disease. If only a small area of one lung is affected, it implies a better prognosis. I hope this sheds some light on the issue.