Primary alveolar hypoventilation treated with nocturnal electrophrenic respiration.

A case of primary alveolar hypoventilation is described. Despite characteristic clinical findings, the diagnosis was delayed for 4 years. Alleviation of nocturnal hypoxemia and hypercapnia initially by a rocking bed and subsequently by phrenic nerve stimulation was accompanied by reversal of cor pulmonale and polycythemia. Electrophrenic respiration is an effective form of long-term management in primary alveolar hypoventilation.