Risk Factors
Risk factors include prematurity, low birth weight, suboptimal breastfeeding, malnutrition, low socioeconomic status, lack of immunization, crowded living conditions, recent hospitalization, recent antibiotic regimen, aspiration of foreign bodies and/or toxins, passive exposure to smoke, day care attendance, immunocompromised status, and certain comorbid conditions (e.g., cystic fibrosis, asthma, cancer, HIV/AIDS). Children with dysphagia, impaired gastrointestinal motility, and/or a gastrostomy tube are at increased risk for aspiration pneumonia.