[A case of central sleep-apnea syndrome accompanied by bilateral paralysis of the diaphragma after pediatric cardiac surgery].

Sleep-apnea syndrome is a serious problem in respiratory care. Considerable attention has been paid to it, because it sometimes produces severe hypoxia and hypercapnia, and can cause death. We present a case of a six-year-old girl who showed sleep-apnea syndrome. She suffered from bilateral paralysis of the diaphragm after cardiac surgery and had to be managed under mechanical ventilation for three months. When weaning was tried from mechanical ventilation, she frequently showed apnea lasting over 15 seconds at night, and she was diagnosed as having sleep apnea. She was medicated with theophylline to stimulate the so-called respiratory center. Next day she was successfully weaned from mechanical ventilation. After she had been weaned from mechanical ventilation, hypoxia, hypercapnia, and tachycardia were detected by respiratory monitor at night. The respiratory monitor enabled us to identify the clinical appearance of sleep-apnea, and theophylline may have contributed to its improvement.