Outcomes and Functional Deterioration in Hospital Admissions with Acute Hypoxemia.

Background: Many hospitalized patients decline in functional status after discharge, but functional decline in emergency admissions with hypoxemia is unknown. The primary aim of this study was to study functional outcomes as a clinical endpoint in a cohort of patients with acute hypoxemia.

Methods: A multicenter prospective observational study was conducted in patients with new-onset hypoxemia emergently admitted to two respiratory departments at a university hospital and an academic teaching hospital.

["Crack lung" - atypical bilateral pneumonia].

Inhalation of crack and freebase results in alveolar hemorrhage. In severe courses of the disease, progressive respiratory insufficiency may lead to respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Computed tomography of the thorax reveals bilateral consolidation and ground-glass pattern leaving a subpleural gap.