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Disminución o detención de la respiración - Overview

Nombres alternativos

Respiración lenta o detenida; Ausencia de la respiración; Paro respiratorio; Apnea

Definición:

La respiración que se hace lenta o se detiene por cualquier causa se denomina apnea.

Ver también:

Consideraciones:

La apnea puede aparecer y desaparecer y ser temporal, lo cual puede ocurrir, por ejemplo, con la apnea obstructiva del sueño.

La apnea prolongada significa que una persona deja de respirar. Si el corazón aún está activo, la afección se conoce como paro respiratorio y es un evento potencialmente mortal que requiere de primeros auxilios y atención médica inmediata.

La apnea prolongada acompañada de falta de cualquier actividad cardíaca en una persona que no reacciona se denomina paro cardíaco (o cardiopulmonar). En los bebés y niños pequeños, la causa más común de paro cardíaco es el paro respiratorio; mientras que en los adultos, generalmente ocurre lo contrario, el paro cardíaco lleva al paro respiratorio.

Causas:

La apnea puede ocurrir por muchas razones diferentes. Las causas más comunes de apnea en los bebés y niños pequeños generalmente son bastante diferentes de las causas más frecuentes en los adultos.

Las causas comunes de la apnea en bebés y niños pequeños abarcan:

Las causas comunes de la apnea en adultos abarcan:

  • Asma u otras enfermedades pulmonares.
  • Paro cardíaco.
  • Asfixia.
  • Sobredosis de drogas, especialmente debido alcohol, analgésicos narcóticos, barbitúricos, anestésicos y otros depresores (ver: primeros auxilios en caso de drogadicción).
  • Apnea obstructiva del sueño.

Otras causas de apnea son:

  • Reviewed last on: 1/7/2011
  • Jacob L. Heller, MD, MHA, Emergency Medicine, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

Referencias

Ward KR, Neumar RW. Adult resuscitation. In: Marx J, Hockberger RS, Walls RM, et al., eds. Rosen’s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2009:chap 7.

Berg MD, Nadkarni VM, Gausche-Hill M, Kaji AH, Berg RA. Pediatric resuscitation. In: Marx J, Hockberger RS, Walls RM, et al., eds. Rosen’s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Mosby Elsevier; 2009:chap 8.

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