[Weaning failure in mechanical ventilation. Ondine's curse: a clinical case and review]

Abstract

Cerebral lesions after a stroke present different clinical features depending on the neurological structures affected. Complications after an injury in the respiratory center may lead to prolonged mechanical ventilation. Among these possible complications there is a rare neurological condition called "Ondine's curse" that is caused by spontaneous breathing failure. Patients who suffer this syndrome cannot breathe automatically and need to control their respiration consciously and voluntarily. We report the case of a woman who developed a syndrome of central alveolar hypoventilation secondary to an injury in respiratory center after a hemorrhagic stroke. We have reviewed the etiology, physiopathology, diagnosis and treatment of patients with Ondine's curse.