Mendelson's syndrome | |
---|---|
Specialty | Pneumonology |
Mendelson's syndrome, named in 1946 for American obstetrician and cardiologist Curtis Lester Mendelson, is a form of chemical pneumonitis or aspiration pneumonitis caused by aspiration of stomach contents (principally gastric acid) during anaesthesia in childbirth. This complication of anaesthesia led, in part, to the longstanding nil per os (abbr. NPO; a Latin phrase meaning nothing by mouth) recommendation for women in labour.[1][2]