ORTHODEOXIA AND PLATYPNOEA AFTER ACUTE ORGANOPHOSPHORUS POISONING REVERSED BY CPAP - A NEWLY DESCRIBED CAUSE AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

The case of a 60-year-old male patient, who survived severe organophos phorus poisoning, and subsequently developed platypnoea and orthodeoxi a is described. The patient was mechanically ventilated for a long per iod of time in the intensive care unit. During the weaning trial, he d eveloped platypnoea and orthodeoxia (PaO2 85 mmHg in recumbency, and 4 0 mmHg in upright position). Interestingly, the patient's orthodeoxia was alleviated on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment . This is a newly described cause of the platypnoea-orthodeoxia syndro me. The possible pathophysiological mechanisms are discussed and a rev iew of the reported abnormal states associated with this condition is presented.