Sea drowning is a common cause of accidental death worldwide. Respiratory complications such as acute pulmonary oedema, which is often complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome, is often seen. Noninvasive ventilation is already widely used as a first approach to treat acute respiratory failure resulting from multiple diseases. We report a case of a 45 year old man with a history of epilepsy, motor and mental handicap who developed acute respiratory failure secondary to sea water drowning after an epileptic crisis. We illustrate successful and rapid management of this case with noninvasive ventilation. We emphasize the advantages and limitations of using noninvasive ventilation to treat acute respiratory failure due to sea water drowning syndrome.
Keywords: ARDS, Acure Respiratory Distress Syndrome; ARF, Acute Respiratory Failure; Acute respiratory failure; CRP, C-reactive protein; Drowning; Epilepsy; MV, Mechanical ventilation; NIV, Noninvasive ventilation; Noninvasive ventilation; PEEP, Positive End Expiratory Pressure; PS, Pressure Support; RF, Respiratory Frequency; VES, Erythrocyte sedimentation rate.