How common is aspiration pneumonia?

How common is aspiration pneumonia?

Aspiration of food or drink is a relatively common thing. You’ve probably heard someone say that food "went down the wrong pipe,” meaning that food or drink went toward your lungs instead of your stomach. When this happens, you probably coughed until you felt better.

When the same sort of thing happens to someone who isn’t able to cough the food or drink out of their lungs, aspiration pneumonia may result.