CHEYNE STOKES RESPIRATIONS

Course overview

CHEYNE-STOKES RESPIRATION IS A TYPE OF BREATHING DISORDER CHARACTERIZED BY CYCLICAL EPISODES OF APNEA AND HYPERVENTILATION. ALTHOUGH DESCRIBED IN THE EARLY 19TH CENTURY BY JOHN CHEYNE AND WILLIAM STOKES, THIS DISORDER HAS RECEIVED CONSIDERABLE ATTENTION IN THE LAST DECADE DUE TO ITS ASSOCIATION WITH HEART FAILURE AND STROKE, TWO MAJOR CAUSES OF MORTALITY, AND MORBIDITY IN DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. DESPITE INCREASING RECOGNITION AND GROWING KNOWLEDGE, CHEYNE-STOKES RESPIRATION REMAINS ELUSIVE, AND PATIENTS HAVE VERY LIMITED TREATMENT OPTIONS. THIS ACTIVITY HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN CARING FOR PATIENTS WITH CHEYNE STOKES RESPIRATION.