Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0020440 (hypercapnia)
 7,939 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

A 29-year-old obese man had marked tonsillar hypertrophy, somnolence, hypoxemia, and hypercapnia. Endotracheal intubation followed by tracheostomy relieved the hypoventilation. Weight loss improved the arterial blood gas levels. Sequential upright and supine flow-volume loops were compatible with a fixed upper-airway obstruction (such as would occur) with enlarged tonsils) prior to tonsillectomy. Following surgery, the expiratory flow-volume curve was abnormal in the supine position, consistent with the additional diagnosis of posterior pharyngeal hypotonia. Thus, in this patient the unique combination of tonsillar hypertrophy, posterior pharyngeal hypotonia, obesity, and a depressed respiratory center led to retention of carbon dioxide.
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PMID:Tonsillar hypertrophy in an adult with obesity-hypoventilation syndrome. The use of the flow-volume loop. 97 91

Twenty-two infants and children were found to have clinically significant obstructive sleep apnea. A history suggesting complete or partial airway obstruction during sleep was obtained on all patients, and physical examination of the sleeping patient revealed snoring, retractions, or OSA in 21 patients. Nevertheless, the mean delay in referral for 20 patients first seen after the neonatal period was 23 +15 (+ SD) months. Sixteen of 22 patients (73%) developed serious sequelae: cor pulmonale in 12 (55%), failure to thrive in six (27%), permanent neurologic damage in two (9%), and behavioral disturbances, hypersomnolence, or developmental delays in five (23%). Clinical and radiologic evaluations revealed anatomic abnormalities which narrowed the upper airway in 21 patients; enlarged tonsils and/or adenoids in 14, micrognathia in three,generalized facial abnormalities in three, and cleft palate repair/tonsillar hypertrophy in one. In five patients, upper airway fluoroscopy was performed and was helpful in establishing the site and mechanism of obstruction. Polygraphic monitoring was utilized to quantify the frequency and duration of OSA. Prolonged partial airway obstruction during sleep resulted in significant hypercarbia in 11 patients and hypoxemia in five. Twenty patients improved after surgery which relieved or bypassed the pharyngeal airway obstruction; two cases are pending. Increased awareness of OSA and examination of the sleeping patient should result in earlier treatment and less morbidity for infants and children with OSA.
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PMID:Obstructive sleep apnea in infants and children. 705 14

The failure to eradicate group A beta-hemolytic streptococci from the pharynx is partly due to a low compliance, but above all, an alteration of the oropharyngeal microbiological flora: reduction of alpha-haemolytic streptococci which inhibit group A beta-hemolytic streptococci and increase of microorganisms such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Moraxella catarrhalis. These latter act indirectly destroying the beta-lactamic ring of penicillins. However, this obstacle is overcome by the use of antibiotics which do not contain beta-lactamic rings such as macrolides or associating amoxicillin with clavulanic acid or with new cephalosporins which are more resistant to beta lactamases. To restrict the diffusion of resistance to antibiotics, it is essential to limit their use diagnosing streptococcal tonsillopharyngitis more precisely, thanks to an improved use of micro-biological diagnostic tests and by a more extended use of tonsillectomy in recurrent tonsillitis (more than 6-7 in 1-2 years). Adenoiditis is closely related to the post nasal drip syndrome, to recurrent otitis media and to otitis media with effusion. All these situations could, therefore, represent an indication, although not well defined, for adenoidectomy. Nasopharyngeal obstruction due to adeno-tonsillar hypertrophy becomes critical during sleep when the hypotony of the upper airway muscles becomes additional to the anatomical obstruction. At this point the inspiratory effort required and the consequent decrease of intra airway pressure increase the pharyngeal obstruction suctioning the pharyngeal walls toward the median line. The resulting clinical picture is defined as sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) due to adenotonsillar hypertrophy (idiopathic), to be distinguished from SDB due to cranio-facial abnormalities or neuromuscular diseases. SDB includes both the more serious sleep apnea syndrome and the less severe upper airway respiratory resistance syndrome. A combination of symptoms and clinical data detectable both while awake or asleep, make the diagnosis simple. During sleep, both apnea and paradoxical inspiratory movements are highly specific while snoring is highly sensitive. To evaluate nasopharyngeal obstruction radiography and optic fibre endoscopy are both equally reliable. The gold standard test for non idiopathic SDB is the polysomnography, whereas for SDB, due to adenotonsillar hypertrophy, one is limited today to the recording during sleep of O2 saturation or of end tidal CO2. These investigations are, however, generally used up to 2 years of age, when the decision to carry out an adenoidectomy and especially a tonsillectomy is more difficult because of the greater risks which surgery involves at this age. The pharmacological therapy has a purely palliative function and is based on antibiotics, local vasoconstrictors, steroids and theophylline which acts more as an antiflogistic than as a breath stimulant. O2 therapy and nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) give better results, but are more difficult to carry out, in particular on a long term basis. Adenoidectomy especially if associated with tonsillectomy, leads to the resolution of the symptoms, but not always to a normalization of functional alterations (hypoxia and hypercapnia). For this reason, it is necessary to act on other factors which cause oedema of the nasopharyngeal mucosa contributing to the obstruction. In this area, the prevention of viral infections can be achieved by vaccination against influenza and by preventing the child from attending crowded day care centers. With regard to allergic inflammation, skin prick tests could be a first step in view of allergens avoidance measures. With regard to indoor air pollution, passive smoke must be stopped and the child kept out of the kitchen.
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PMID:[The tonsils and adenoids as a site of infection and the cause of obstruction]. 986 45

An 8-year-old female with pancreatic-insufficiency cystic fibrosis presented with recurrent pharyngitis, and reduction in body mass index and height velocity during the previous 2 years. Her symptoms (eg, snoring and restless sleep) suggested obstructive sleep apnea, and physical examination revealed tonsillar hypertrophy. While her respiratory disturbance index on nocturnal polysomnography was normal, there was evidence of prolonged periods of snoring, associated with hypercapnia. Adenotonsillectomy decreased the snoring, improved her sleep, and in the 18-month follow-up period she had substantial weight-gain and growth improvement. This case demonstrates that adenotonsillar hypertrophy associated with recurrent pharyngitis and primary snoring might hinder growth in a patient with cystic fibrosis.
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PMID:Primary snoring and growth failure in a patient with cystic fibrosis. 1996 40