HYPERVENTILATION SYNDROME IN CHILDHOOD - A GLANCE THROUGH THE WINDOW

Hyperventilation syndrome (HVS) is a clinical problem which often invo lves organic respiratory, psychiatric and physiological disturbances. In adults, as well as in children, HVS may be observed as an acute or chronic situation with symptoms that may affect almost any part of the body and any organ system. Pediatric literature has given scant atten tion to this disorder and psychological implications have not been dee ply investigated in children. In the present report we analyzed the ps ycopathological aspects, beneath symptoms of hyperventilation, in thre e girls with HVS. In these patients, different (psychosomatic and/or n eurotic) mechanisms that linked the psychological discomfort to the so matic complaints were evaluated. We think that pediatricians should co nsider HVS as a potentially disabling disorder which deserves a high c linical suspicion and, often, an adequate psychological approach.