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Sleep Breath 1999; 3(4): 131-138
DOI: 10.1055/s-1999-22082
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Copyright © 1999 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA. Tel: +1(212)584-4662.

A Management Guideline for Obesity-Hypoventilation Syndromes

Shyam  Subramanian1 , Kingman P. Strohl2
  • Department of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University and the Louis Stokes VA Medical Center, Cleveland Ohio.
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Publication History

Publication Date:
14 March 2002 (online)

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ABSTRACT

A survey of our pulmonary service revealed little consensus as to the definition, work-up, and management of hypoventilation, more often encountered in the presence of obesity. If hypoventilation is defined by an arterial carbon dioxide level above 45mmHg, 22% of artrial blood gas samples over a 5-month period met this criterium, suggesting a high Òany-causeÓ prevalence. This article presents the rationale and explanation for a management protocol for obesity-hypoventilation that is currently being assessed in the VA Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University training program in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine.

KEYWORD

hypercapnia - Pickwickian syndrome - obesity