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Acute Respiratory Failure

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Emergency Department Critical Care

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Abstract

The respiratory system comprises a coordinated set of organs with the goal of eliminating carbon dioxide produced during cellular metabolism (ventilation) and providing adequate oxygen for transport to tissues to perform aerobic metabolism (oxygenation). Acute respiratory failure occurs with any process that either inhibits the ability to provide adequate oxygen (Type I) or maintain adequate blood pH with minute ventilation (Type II). The most clinically significant causes of Type I respiratory failure are ventilation–perfusion mismatch and shunt, both of which represent disturbances in gas exchange across the alveolar–capillary interface. Type II respiratory failure occurs from any decrease in minute ventilation, increase in CO2 production that exceeds the ability to compensate with increased ventilation, or increase in dead space. This chapter reviews the pathophysiology and treatment of acute respiratory failure.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Emergency Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care, and Sleep, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Jarrod M. Mosier

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  1. Jarrod M. Mosier
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Correspondence to Jarrod M. Mosier .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Medicine, University of Florida Health Science Center, Jacksonville, FL, USA

    Joseph R. Shiber

  2. Resuscitation & Emergency Critical Care, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA

    Scott D. Weingart

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Mosier, J.M. (2020). Acute Respiratory Failure. In: Shiber, J., Weingart, S. (eds) Emergency Department Critical Care. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28794-8_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28794-8_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-28792-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-28794-8

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