Abstract
We describe three patients who required mechanical ventilation for severe acute exacerbations of obstructive airways disease. When treatment with sedatives and muscle relaxants was withdrawn, they exhibited profound generalized weakness and consequently required prolonged ventilation despite resolution of the airway obstruction. Clinical features were variable, but none of the patients developed failure of other organs and infection was confined to the lungs. All had electrophysiologic evidence of a predominantly motor axonal syndrome. One patient in whom sensory action potentials were abnormal may represent an unusually severe case of critical illness neuropathy occurring in the absence of systemic sepsis and multiple organ failure. In the other two cases, this diagnosis is made less likely by the complete absence of sensory involvement and in these patients the lesion appeared to be either in the most distal portion of the motor neuron or at the neuromuscular junction. In all three patients, resolution was slow but eventually complete. The etiology of the condition is not clear, but it seems to be distinct from the acute myopathy previously described in asthmatics who had received mechanical ventilation. It is important to recognize this phenomenon to avoid erroneous conclusions about the likelihood of the patient recovering from ventilator dependence. A prolonged weaning period is to be expected in such cases.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.