Sleep apnea and nocturnal hypoventilation after western equine encephalitis.

Abstract

That viral encephalitis can produce daytime hypoventilation is well appreciated, but an association of this infection with the development of a prolonged disturbance of breathing during sleep once the ventilatory disorder during wakefulness has resolved, has not been reported. We describe a young male who required assisted mechanical ventilation in association with western equine encephalitis. Normal waking ventilation returned over 3 to 4 wk, but frequent apneas and severe hypoventilation persisted during sleep with a near absence of waking ventilatory response to chemical stimuli. Over 3 months there was considerable improvement in breathing during sleep associated with an increase in both hypoxic and hypercapnic ventilatory responsiveness.

• Authors: D P White, F Miller, R W Erickson
• Journal: The American review of respiratory disease (Am Rev Respir Dis) Vol. 127 Issue 1 Pg. 132-3 (Jan 1983) ISSN: 0003-0805 [Print] United States
• PMID: 6849538 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Topics

• Adolescent
• Encephalitis Virus, Western Equine
• Encephalomyelitis, Equine (complications)
• Humans
• Male
• Respiration
• Sleep Apnea Syndromes (diagnosis, etiology, therapy)