To summarize the best evidence for the prevention and management of aspiration pneumonia in elderly patients to provide a basis for clinical nursing work.

We systematically searched the domestic and foreign guide nets, websites of relevant institutions and databases on the relevant evidence for the prevention and management of aspiration pneumonia, including guidelines, expert consensus, systematic reviews, randomized controlled trials (RCT) , and the search time limit was from January 1, 2010, to June 30, 2020, and the language was not limited. Two researchers evaluated the quality of the included literature, and extracted, analyzed, and integrated evidence that met the quality evaluation criteria.

A total of 8 guidelines, 5 expert consensus, 10 systematic reviews, and 19 RCTs were included. The evidence was collected and extracted to form a prevention and management strategy for elderly patients with aspiration pneumonia including 11 first-level indicators and 32 second-level indicators.

Medical and nursing staff should take effective measures in risk assessment, posture management, oral management, airway management, medication management, functional exercise and so on to reduce the risk of aspiration. Medical and nursing staff should also strengthen training for their own, elderly patients and main caregivers, and reduce the incidence of aspiration in elderly patients by applying the best evidence, so as to reduce the incidence of aspiration pneumonia.

Evidence-based nursing; Aged; Pneumonia, aspiration; Prevention and control; Management; Evidence summary