Respiratory dysrhythmia. A new cause of central alveolar hypoventilation

An infant developed chronic respiratory failure after aseptic meningoencephalitis at 5 months of age. Neurologic evaluations at 16 and 17 months were normal except for an abnormal pharyngeal stage of swallowing, lower extremity hypotonia, and a mild left hemiparesis. Spontaneous breathing during sleep at 16 months was characterized by alveolar hypoventilation, athetoid truncal movements, and disorganized respiratory muscle activity. At 27 months of age, improvement in sleep-related breathing was accompanied by a change in respiratory pattern characterized by alternating inspiratory and expiratory muscular activation. The findings indicate that disorganized as well as diminished output from the central respiratory pattern generator may result in central alveolar hypoventilation.