Noninvasive ventilation options in pediatric myasthenia gravis.

Abstract

A 10-month-old female infant with congenital myasthenic syndrome suffering from acute respiratory failure was supported using face mask positive pressure ventilation until definitive diagnosis and specific treatment was achieved. A 12-year-old girl suffering from seronegative myasthenia gravis was treated by helmet-delivered noninvasive ventilation during recurrent myasthenic episodes. Noninvasive support was really beneficial in the myasthenic crisis with respiratory muscle weakness, whereas a shift to tracheal intubation was necessary when pulmonary infection and multiple atelectasis occurred. The new helmet interface for noninvasive positive pressure ventilation can represent a valuable means of respiratory support in the early phase of respiratory failure in older children.

• Authors: Marco Piastra, Giorgio Conti, Elena Caresta, Alessia Tempera, Antonio Chiaretti, Giancarlo Polidori, Massimo Antonelli
• Journal: Paediatric anaesthesia (Paediatr Anaesth) Vol. 15 Issue 8 Pg. 699-702 (Aug 2005) ISSN: 1155-5645 [Print] France
• PMID: 16029407 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Topics

• Child
• Equipment Design
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Head Protective Devices
• Humans
• Infant
• Intubation, Intratracheal
• Lung Diseases (microbiology)
• Masks
• Myasthenia Gravis (therapy)
• Positive-Pressure Respiration (instrumentation, methods)
• Pulmonary Atelectasis (therapy)
• Respiration, Artificial (instrumentation, methods)
• Respiratory Insufficiency (therapy)
• Respiratory Paralysis (therapy)