Complicaciones respiratorias de la tetraplejia: Una mirada a las alternativas terapéuticas actuales

Abstract

Respiratory complications are the first cause of death in patients with tetraplegia, including both the acute and chronic stage of the disease. They include a wide variety of respiratory problems, such as repeated pneumonias, atelectasis, unsatisfactory secretions manage, respiratory failure, hypoventilation, and other complex pathologies such as pulmonary embolism and sleep apnea syndrome. It has been postulated that the main cause of all these respiratory complications is weakness of inter costáis and abdominal muscles, and partial or complete dysfunction of the diaphragm. Today we have multiple therapeutic alternatives to prevent, manage and specifically treat the multiple types of complications. The main objective of this article is to review the different therapeutical alternatives and encourage the study of this important topic