Unexplained Underventilation of the Lungs

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Abstract
Four cases of unexplained under-ventilation are described. Clinically they were characterized by headache, somnolence, sudden episodes of unconsciousness, and a tendency to right heart failure. There was little dyspnea. The dominant defect in lung function was alveolar underventilation, associated in 3 of the patients with low overall ventilation. In addition there were clinical and physiological features suggesting that all these patients had mild chronic bronchitis, but reasons are given for considering that this did not account for the underventilation. The etiology is unknown. Attempts to stimulate ventilation have been largely unsuccessful.