{{Short description|Abnormal pattern of breathing (also known as Biot's respirations)}} {{Infobox medical condition | name = Ataxic respirations | synonym = Biot's respiration; Biot's breathing | image = Biot's Breathing.jpg | caption = Graph showing ataxic respirations and other pathological breathing patterns. | specialty = Neurology; Pulmonology | causes = Damage to Medulla Oblongata and Pons }}'''Ataxic respirations''', also known as '''Biot's respirations''' or '''Biot's breathing''', is an abnormal pattern of breathing characterized by variable tidal volume, random apneas, and no regularity.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last=Stanifer |first=John |title=A Peculiar Type of Dyspnea: Kussmaul, Cheyne-Stokes, and Biot Respirations |url=https://www.vumc.org/vecd/sites/default/files/publication_files/E21.pdf |journal=Historia Medicinae |volume=3 |issue=1}}</ref> It is named for Camille Biot, who characterized it in 1876.<ref name=":12">{{in lang|fr}} Biot MC. Contribution a l'étude du phénomène respiratoire de Cheyne-Stokes. Lyon Med. 1876;23:517-528, 561-567.</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite journal |author=Wijdicks EF |date=May 2007 |title=Biot's breathing |url= |journal=J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry |volume=78 |issue=5 |pages=512–3 |doi=10.1136/jnnp.2006.104919 |pmc=2117832 |pmid=17435185}}</ref> Biot's respiration is caused by damage to the medulla oblongata and pons due to trauma, stroke, opioid use, and increased intracranial pressure due to uncal or tentorial herniation.<ref name=":02" /><ref>{{Citation |last1=Alraiyes |first1=Abdul Hamid |title=Biot's Respiration In A Chronic Opioid User: Improved With Adaptive-Servo Ventilation |date=2011-05-01 |work=C76. CONTROL OF VENTILATION AND RESPIRATORY MUSCLES |article-number=A5279 |url=https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1164/ajrccm-conference.2011.183.1_MeetingAbstracts.A5279 |access-date=2022-06-13 |series=American Thoracic Society International Conference Abstracts |publisher=American Thoracic Society |doi=10.1164/ajrccm-conference.2011.183.1_meetingabstracts.a5279 |last2=Thompson |first2=Patrick ". |last3=Thammasitboon |first3=Supat|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Often this condition is also associated with meningitis.<ref name=":12" /> In common medical practice, Biot's respiration is often mistaken for Cheyne–Stokes respiration, part of which may have been caused by them both being described by the same person and subtle differences between the types of breathing.<ref name=":02" /><ref name=":2" />
Ataxic respirations were discovered by Dr. Camille Biot in the late 19th century as he wrote multiple papers analyzing subtle differences in Cheyne-Stokes respirations in patients admitted to Hôtel Dieu Hospital.<ref name=":1" />
== Etymology == The word ataxia is commonly used in the medical literature. Examining the word "taxis," meaning order or organization, and "a," meaning without, the resulting meaning is "without order".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Haubrich |first=William |title=Medical Meanings: A Glossary of Word Origins |publisher=American College of Physicians |year=2003 |edition=2nd |language=English}}</ref> Hence, ataxic respirations should equate to respirations without order, which is accurate.
==Etiology == thumb|Dr. Camille Biot, who defined the concept of ataxic respiration.|245x245px Ataxic respirations are caused by damage to the medulla oblongata (respiratory center of the brainstem) due to strokes or trauma. It generally indicates a poor prognosis and usually progresses to complete apnea.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Summ |first=Oliver |last2=Hassanpour |first2=Nahid |last3=Mathys |first3=Christian |last4=Groß |first4=Martin |date=2022-06-01 |title=Disordered breathing in severe cerebral illness – Towards a conceptual framework |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1569904822000283 |journal=Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology |volume=300 |article-number=103869 |doi=10.1016/j.resp.2022.103869 |issn=1569-9048|doi-access=free }}</ref>
== Diagnosis and management == Advances in medical care may be masking the presence of ataxic respirations. This could be related to the fact that the treatment for ataxic respirations typically results in intubation immediately upon diagnosis, with mechanical ventilation to regulate patients' breathing.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal | pmc = 2117832 | pmid=17435185 | doi=10.1136/jnnp.2006.104919 | volume=78 | title=Biot's breathing | date=May 2007 | author=Wijdicks EF | journal=J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry | pages=512–3}}</ref> Furthermore, patients will often be intubated and on mechanical ventilation prior to the onset of ataxic respirations.<ref name=":1" />
== Related patterns == thumb|440x440px|Various breathing abnormalities Ataxic respirations are one of many unique respiration styles in an ill patient. There is an apparent controversy surrounding the novelty of ataxic respirations versus the well-known Cheyne-Stokes and cluster respirations, which Dr. Camille Biot deemed mutually exclusive.<ref name=":2" /> Notably, Dr. Miller Fisher was able to identify ataxic respirations in comatose patients differentiating the breathing from cluster breathing.<ref name=":2" />
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== References == {{Reflist}} *{{citation|title=Introduction to respiratory care|author1=Michael G. Levitzky |author2=Jimmy M. Cairo |author3=Stanley M. Hall |publisher=Saunders|year=1990|isbn=978-0-7216-1090-0}}
==External links== *[http://www.waiting.com/brainfuncthree.html About brain injury and functions]
{{Respiratory system symptoms and signs}}
Category:Breathing abnormalities