A Classic Case of Severe Negative Pressure Pulmonary Edema

Negative pressure pulmonary edema (NPPE) is a form of noncardiogenic pulmonary edema that occurs in approximately 0.1% of patients undergoing general anesthesia and develops in an estimated 12% of patients who develop an upper airway obstruction throughout the perioperative period.1,2 Due to potential life threatening complications associated with NPPE it is important for the practitioner to recognize the signs of NPPE as well as when and how to properly treat it.1,3 This case study is exemplary of severe NPPE that develops in a young, healthy adolescent male as a result of an upper airway obstruction that occurred during transport to the post anesthesia recovery unit.