• J L Muñoz Blanco.
• Unidad ELA-Neuromuscular, Servicio de Neurología, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid, España. jmunozb.hgugm@salud.madrid.org
• Neurologia. 2010 Oct 1;25 Suppl 1:37-45.

AbstractNeurologists should anticipate and recognize the onset of respiratory failure in patients with neuromuscular diseases. Symptoms vary according to the speed of onset of respiratory muscle weakness. Catastrophic situations usually occur in three clinical scenarios: 1) incorrect management of acute respiratory failure of neuromuscular origin, autonomic dysfunction or during general anaesthesia of patients with neuromuscular diseases ; 2) incorrect prognosis and treatment due to the lack of a correct diagnosis. This situation is more common in ventilated patients with associated muscular weakness, acute neuropathies or motor neuron disease, and 3) inappropriate medical intervention in patients with neuromuscular disease with a definitive diagnosis but longstanding disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, spinal muscular atrophy, myotonic dystrophy and other muscular dystrophies).Copyright © 2010 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

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