[Fulminating refractory hypoxemia. Apropos of 3 cases including 1 case of tuberculosis].

The authors report 3 cases of refractory fulminant hypoxemia. The etiology was various, neoplastic lymphangitis, influenza and tuberculosis. The authors emphasize the role of tuberculosis in the onset of certain diffuse interstitial fibroses.

[Myotonic dystrophy and acute respiratory insufficiency].

Myotonic dystrophy or Steinert's disease may be discovered during acute respiratory failure, sometimes caused by a general anaesthetic. It complicates chronic respiratory failure which is present in almost all cases, both restrictive and obstructive, the clinical signs of which progress with the myopathy. Apart from myotonic degeneration of the respiratory muscles, a hypoventilation syndrome of central origin has been described, but the etiology of this respiratory failure is dominated by repeated aspiration pneumonia favoured by constant dysphagia and passage of food into the trachea and poor cough reflex.

[Misleading pulmonary emboliu].

The authors report 12 cases of pulmonary embolism with misleading signs and discuss the difficulty in diagnosis: 1) the frequency of incomplete forms; 2) lack of specificity of the clinical and paraclinical picture of pulmonary embolism which may simulate pulmonary or heart disease; 3) difficulties in interpretation of the signs of pulmonary embolism in cases of prior heart or pulmonary disease.

[Deceptive and revealing clinical forms of acute respiratory insufficience in chronic bronchopneumopathies].

The authors report 6 cases of acute respiratory failure complicating chronic bronchial and lung disease admitted to hospital with the diagnosis of: heart disease, 3 cases, pulmonary oedema, pulmonary embolism, atrial flutter; status asthmaticus : one case; neuro-psychiatric disease : 2 cases (toxic coma and agitation). The authors emphasize the frequency of chronic bronchial disease and recall the signs of acute decompensation discussing the possible difficulties in diagnosis and the therapeutic implications.