Abstract
Because of the progressive muscle weakness they experience, patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy frequently utilize positive-pressure devices to maintain adequate bronchial hygiene and ventilation. This case illustrates the course of a 19-y-old male who presented with a perforated right tympanic membrane (TM) following the use of these devices. Perforation of the TM while utilizing positive-pressure devices is a rarely reported event. A challenging aspect in this case was balancing the reduction of pressures and maintaining adequate ventilation while at the same time allowing the TM to heal.
- positive-pressure ventilation
- perforated tympanic membrane
- myringorupture
- insufflator-exsufflator
- noninvasive ventilation
Footnotes
- Correspondence: Gary R Lowe MEd RRT-NPS RPFT, Respiratory Care Services, Slot 303, 1 Children's Way, Little Rock, AR 72202-3591. E-mail: lowegr{at}archildrens.org.
Mr Gee presented a version of this paper at the AARC Congress 2012, held November 10–13, 2012, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
The authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest.
- Copyright © 2015 by Daedalus Enterprises
