Conversation: The conversation between human and AI assistant.
[|Human|] i m a caregiver for a woman with psp. She rarely speaks now but occasionally laughs and sometimes smiles. when she eats or drinks she sometimes coughs and I worry about aspiration pneumonia. I have some general experience but no formal training. I don t know how to help. Can you make suggestions please? thanks
[|AI|]  Thanks for your question on Chat Doctor.  I can understand your concern. PSP is progressive supra nuclear palsy. It is cerebral disease. And this can cause diminished gag reflex. So possibility of aspiration is high in such patients. Your patient is also having coughing during eating and Chat Doctor.  This is suggestive of aspiration more. So your patient is at high risk of aspiration pneumonia. Better to feed him in sitting position. Avoid further feeding if he develops coughing. Nasogastric tube feeding is much safer in such patients. This reduces aspiration and chances of pneumonia. So discus all these with doctor and plan accordingly. Hope o have solved your query. I will be happy to help you further. Wishing good health to your patient. Thanks.