Respiratory patterns

Respiratory Patterns main page
Overview
Classification Eupnea
Tachypnea
Bradypnea
Apnea
Cheyne-Stokes Respiration
Biot's Respiration
Apneustic Respiration
Agonal Respiration
Kussmaul's Respiration
Sighing Respiration

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Eiman Ghaffarpasand, M.D. [2]

Synonyms and keywords:

Eupnea

• Normal breathing is consisted of inhalation (sucking the air into the lungs) followed by exhalation (blowing the air out of the lungs).
• Every exhalation is followed by an automatic pause of about 2 second, before the next inhalation.
• Inhalation is an active process using diaphragm muscles, despite exhalation which is a passive process.
• Eupnea is the normal pattern of breathing with a rate of 10-12 per minute, each cycle is composed of:
  • Inhalation of 1.5-2 seconds
  • Exhalation of 1.5-2 seconds
  • Spontaneous stop of 2 seconds
• The main characteristics of eupnea are as following:
  • Slow
  • Regular
  • Nasal inhalation, oral exhalation
  • Diaphragmatic
  • Effortless
  • Clear auscultation:
    • No panting
    • No wheezing
    • No sighing
    • No deep breathing

Tachypnea

• Tachypnea is increased rate and decrease depth of breathing.

The main pathophysiology of tachypnea is as following:

Decreased plasma oxygen (hypoxemia)

Increased plasma CO2 (respiratory acidosis)

Decreased pulmonary compliance

Increased airway resistance

Carotid body

Medullary chemoreceptors

Pulmonary or muscle mechanoreceptors

Airway receptors

Tachypnea

The main causes of tachypnea are classified into pulmonary, cardiovascular, hematologic, and metabolic pathophysiologies.

Causes		Other findings
Pulmonary	Asthma	Wheezing Prolonged Expiration Hyperinflated lungs
	Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)	Clear lung field in chest X-ray Flattened diaphragm Hyperinflated lungs
	Pneumonia	Rhonchi and scattered wheezing Air-bronchograms Lobar or interstitial infiltrates
	Congestive heart failure (CHF)	Basilar crackles Jugular vein distention (JVD) Pulmonary edema and congestion
	Pneumothorax	Absent breath sounds Loss of pulmonary and vascular marking
Cardiovascular	Pericardial effusion	Low voltage ECG Pericardial fluid accumulation
	Cardiac Tamponade	Electrical alternans Right ventricular collapse during diastole
	Pulmonary embolism	Sinus tachycardia Right ventricular enlargement McConnell sign in echocardiography
	Myocardial infarct	Inverted T-wave or depressed/elevated ST-segment Local or generalized wall motion abnormality
Hematologic	Anemia	Hypoxemia-induced carotid chemoreceptors stimulation Chronic fatigue and numbness
	Sickle cell disease	Severe bone pain Autosplenectomy Hematuria
Metabolic	Metabolic acidosis	Dyspnea and tachypnea May lead to cardiac arrest and death in severe uncompensated cases
	Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA)	Abdominal pain and ketonemia High blood glucose