PMID: 3752716Sep 1, 1986Paper

Respiratory dysrhythmia. A new cause of central alveolar hypoventilation

The American Review of Respiratory Disease
R T BrouilletteG E Gallemore

Abstract

An infant developed chronic respiratory failure after aseptic meningoencephalitis at 5 months of age. Neurologic evaluations at 16 and 17 months were normal except for an abnormal pharyngeal stage of swallowing, lower extremity hypotonia, and a mild left hemiparesis. Spontaneous breathing during sleep at 16 months was characterized by alveolar hypoventilation, athetoid truncal movements, and disorganized respiratory muscle activity. At 27 months of age, improvement in sleep-related breathing was accompanied by a change in respiratory pattern characterized by alternating inspiratory and expiratory muscular activation. The findings indicate that disorganized as well as diminished output from the central respiratory pattern generator may result in central alveolar hypoventilation.

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation is a common arrhythmia that is associated with substantial morbidity and mortality, particularly due to stroke and thromboembolism. Here is the latest research.

Arrhythmia

Arrhythmias are abnormalities in heart rhythms, which can be either too fast or too slow. They can result from abnormalities of the initiation of an impulse or impulse conduction or a combination of both. Here is the latest research on arrhythmias.