Two cases with unilateral lateral medullary infarction associated with central respiratory failure

We reported two patients with unilateral lateral medullary infarction involving severe, long-term respiratory failure. The first patient is an 86-year-old man presenting with gait disturbance, hoarseness and dysphagia. A right lateral medullary infarction was revealed by brain MRI. On the fifth hospitalized day, acute respiratory failure occurred. His condition failed to recover, and he was still attached to a ventilator 10 months after the onset. The second patient is an 83-year-old woman mainly presenting with dysphagia. A tiny infarction in the right lateral medulla was revealed by brain MRI. On the third day after the onset, acute respiratory failure occurred, which was not changed even at 8 months later. Although the symptoms and the lesion in the medulla were quite different between two patients, dysphagia and respiratory failure occurred in both patients. Therefore, it is postulated that the lesion that causes dyspnea may be approximate to the lesion that causes dysphagia. Many previously reported cases presenting respiratory failure seemed to suffer swallowing difficulty as well. We conclude that elderly patients suffering from unilateral lateral medullary infarction with dysphagia can present respiratory failure a few days after the onset, demonstrating the need to observe them under intensive attention.