Obesity as a possible cause of respiratory failure in bilateral diaphragmatic paralysis. Case report

An obese woman with respiratory failure and bilateral diaphragmatic paralysis, was studied in order to investigate the effects of weight loss on respiratory function during wakefulness and sleep. The patient was studied on 5 different occasions during which diurnal blood gas analysis, spirometry, CO2 rebreathing test, nitrogen wash-out test and a nocturnal polysomnographic study were performed. The follow-up period lasted 9 months, during which the patient progressively lost 19 kg. Progressive improvement in awake blood gas tensions (PaO2 + 21 mmHg, PaCO2 - 16 mmHg) as well as in nocturnal oxyhemoglobin saturation and transcutaneous PCO2 were observed; at the same time only minor changes in responsiveness to CO2 and in lung volumes were found. Conversely alveolar efficiency for CO2, obtained with the nitrogen wash-out test, in the supine posture increased from 81.7 to 90.5%, indicating an improvement in ventilation/perfusion ratio as a possible determinant of blood gas tension improvement during wakefulness and, as a consequence, also during sleep. We conclude that obesity is one possible cause of the occurrence of respiratory failure in bilateral diaphragmatic paralysis.