[Delayed negative pressure pulmonary edema].

A young athletic male adult (smoker) developed a pulmonary edema 30 min after the end of anaesthesia. Extubation was complicated by a laryngospasm. After artificial ventilation for 12 h the patient recovered completely.A negative pressure pulmonary edema (NPPE) develops after deep inspiratory efforts with an occluded airway. Such a maneuver leads to negative intrapleural pressures of -50 to -100 mmHg. This pressure gradient causes damage to the pulmonary capillaries, a transcapillary volume shift into the interstitium,and hemodynamic changes that increase the intrapulmonary blood volume. As a NPPE may occur with a delay of up to 1 h it is crucial to provide adequate monitoring for patients at risk. Symptomatic therapy usually leads to complete recovery within several hours.