ABSTRACT
Acute respiratory failure is a broad and complex topic that describes suboptimal function of any of the components of the respiratory system from a large potential mix of clinical disorders. Patients with respiratory failure may have clinical disorders ranging from underlying chronic lung diseases, such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, to acute lung disorders, such as pneumonia in patients with no underlying lung disease, to other acute and chronic problems with the respiratory system including central nervous system dysfunction, upper airway obstruction, and abnormal control of ventilation, or to catastrophic disruption of normal gas exchange as a result of an enormous list of predisposing conditions that lead to a single common pathway of acute lung injury (i.e., noncardiogenic pulmonary edema or acute respiratory distress syndrome [ARDS]). A comprehensive discussion of respiratory failure is well beyond the scope of this chapter. Instead, this chapter will focus on the potential increased likelihood of respiratory failure developing in the elderly patient, mechanisms disrupting the balance between the capacity of the respiratory system and the demands placed on it in the older patient, and clinical features of several specific types of respiratory failure.
