A cranio-cervical malformation presenting as acute respiratory failure.

An 18-year-old, previously healthy male presented with bilateral pneumonia and acute respiratory failure with severe carbon dioxide retention. The presence of mild brainstem signs and hypoventilation led to the discovery of a platybasia, basilar invagination, and kinking of the medulla oblongata with early syrinx. He was operated upon but postoperatively was noted to have a mixed type of sleep apnea. This case illustrates the diagnostic challenge in acute respiratory failure in a previously healthy young person and the possible pathogenic mechanisms underlying it.