At the end of 2019, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2SARS-CoV-2) emerged in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, and infected over 4 million people around the world. Individuals with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have an influenza-like illness and respiratory tract infections. We can categorize patients in three main groups: asymptomatic infected cases, patients with mild upper res...

Papilloedema is a rare but well recognised complication of respiratory failure that was first described in 1933 in a patient with pulmonary emphysema.' Several cases have been reported of patients with respiratory failure and papilloedema who developed optic atrophy and blindness.23 We report on a patient who presented with loss of vision and papilloedema secondary to the obesity hypoventilatio...

West Nile virus infection in humans is mostly asymptomatic. Less than 1% of neuro-invasive cases show a fatality rate of around 10%. Acute flaccid paralysis of respiratory muscles leading to respiratory failure is the most common cause of death. Although the peripheral nervous system can be involved, isolated phrenic nerve palsy leading to respiratory failure is rare and described in only two c...

adequately ventilate), or both hypoxic and hypercapnic. In addition, respiratory failure can be caused by an inability to protect the airway. Alterations in the normal physiology and anatomy of the respiratory system can lead to respiratory failure requiring mechanical ventilation. Anatomic alterations causing airway obstruction, such as tumors, edema, direct or indirect trauma, burns, or other...

CHEST / 137 / 6 / JUNE, 201

1. Explain when hypercarbia interferes with metabolism. 2. Discuss why oximetry is not a sensitive indicator of respiratory failure in patients who are receiving supplemental oxygen. 3. List the indicators of chronic respiratory failure. 4. Describe the usual findings on blood gas analysis in patients who have chronic respiratory failure. 5. Identify which patients should be monitored regularly...

The occurrence of acute postoperative respiratory failure in three patients with renal failure is presented. The most likely cause was the return of muscle paralysis after the apparent antagonism of tubocurarine by neostigmine (recurarization). In addition to reducing the dose of tubocurarine, the authors recommend that pyridostigmine be used as an antagonist instead of neostigmine because the ...