Emergency department clinicians are frequently called upon to assess, diagnose, and stabilize patients who present with acute respiratory failure. This review describes a rapid initial approach to acute respiratory failure in adults, illustrated by two common examples: (1) an airway disease - acute potentially fatal asthma, and (2) a pulmonary parenchymal disease - acute lung injury/acute respi...

OBJECTIVES To identify success and failure prognostic signs of noninvasive ventilation in pediatric acute respiratory failure. Noninvasive ventilation constitutes an alternative treatment for pediatric acute respiratory failure. However, tracheal intubation should not be delayed when considered necessary. DESIGN Prospective, noncontrolled, clinical study. SETTING Pediatric intensive care un...

objectives the aim of this study was to investigate the relation between respiratory muscle strength and the severity of chf, and the influence of respiratory muscle strength on abnormal ventilation during exercise in chf patients. conclusions respiratory muscle strength is related to the severity of chf, and associated with rapid and shallow ventilation or excessive ventilation during exercise...

Sea drowning is a common cause of accidental death worldwide. Respiratory complications such as acute pulmonary oedema, which is often complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome, is often seen. Noninvasive ventilation is already widely used as a first approach to treat acute respiratory failure resulting from multiple diseases. We report a case of a 45 year old man with a history of epi...

INTRODUCTION Diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the most common chronic co-morbid medical conditions in the USA and is frequently present in patients with sepsis. Previous studies reported that people with DM and severe sepsis are less likely to develop acute lung injury (ALI). We sought to determine whether organ dysfunction differed between people with and without DM and sepsis. METHODS Using...

OBJECTIVE We hypothesise that low 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels before hospitalisation are associated with increased risk of acute respiratory failure. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Medical and Surgical Intensive care units of two Boston teaching hospitals. PATIENTS 1985 critically ill adults admitted between 1998 and 2011. INTERVENTIONS None. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN...

Acute respiratory failure is commonly encountered in the emergency department (ED), and early treatment can have effects on long-term outcome. Noninvasive ventilation is commonly used for patients with respiratory failure and has been demonstrated to improve outcomes in acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive lung disease and congestive heart failure, but should be used carefully, if at all,...

Recurrent acute respiratory failure in an epileptic subject is described. The first episode of respiratory failure occurred while the patient was having frequent epileptic fits and was probably secondary to cerebral oedema with temporal herniation. The second occurred suddenly after 27 days during which the patient had been free from seizures. It is suggested that this episode of acute respirat...

We followed the course of 36 consecutive patients hospitalized with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and acute respiratory failure due to exacerbation of chronic bronchitis in order to clarify the prognosis in this common group of patients. All of the patients had spirometric evidence of severe, poorly reversible airflow limitation and all had a similar cause of acute respiratory failure. ...