[Medical history of severe respiratory insufficiency]

To evaluate retrospectively health care in severe chronic respiratory failure, we interviewed 38 patients, admitted for the first time to a pulmonary intensive care unit for an acute episode. A standardised questionnaire was devoted to establishing if the patients were aware of chronic respiratory disease prior to admission, if they had visited a general practitioner or a chest clinic, and had undergone a lung function evaluation. Six patients were unaware of any respiratory disease prior to the acute episode. Six others realised they had suffered from a respiratory disease, but had failed to visit a physician. Among the remaining 26 patients, two-thirds had visited a chest physician. Fourteen of them had undergone spirometry and arterial blood gas measurements. One third had visited a general practitioner but spirometry was performed in only 3 and arterial blood gas analysis in only 1. Thus, chronic respiratory failure is sometimes ignored, and most of the time diagnosed with delay and inadequately evaluated.