Parkinson's Disease – An Unusual Case of Prolonged Invasive Home Ventilation

Abstract

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by muscle rigidity, tremor, slowing or loss of physical movement. The impact of the disease is indicated by the fact that mortality is two to five times as high among affected persons as among age matched controls resulting in reduction in life expectancy. Amongst the motor dysfunction, swallowing disturbances can lead to drooling and impaired ability to swallow. These could cause aspiration pneumonia and death. We report a case of prolonged invasive home ventilation. Patient needs four hours of ventilation a day and uses Passy Muir Valve PMV 2000 for speech. JMS 2013;16(2):97-98