Tachypnea

Distinction from other breathing terms

Different sources produce different classifications for breathing terms.

Some of the public describe tachypnea as any rapid breathing. Hyperventilation is then described as increased ventilation of the alveoli (which can occur through increased rate or depth of breathing, or a mix of both) where there is a smaller rise in metabolic carbon dioxide relative to this increase in ventilation. Hyperpnea, on the other hand, is defined as breathing an increased volume of air, with or without an increase in respiration rate.

Others give another classification: tachypnea is as any rapid breathing, hyperventilation is increased rate of breathing at rest, hyperpnea is an increase in breathing that is appropriately proportional to an increase in metabolic rate.

A third paradigm is: tachypnea is abnormally rapid and shallow respiration (though some may argue this is inaccurate as breathing differs from respiration), hyperventilation is increased rate or depth of respiration to abnormal levels causing decreased levels of blood carbon dioxide and hyperpnea is any increase in breathing rate or depth that is not normal.

Threshold definition

As normal respiratory rate varies with age, the definition of tachypnea also varies with age.

Causes

Tachypnea may have physiological or pathological causes. Both of these categories would include large lists of individual causes.

Physiological causes

Physiological causes of tachypnea include exercise. This type is usually not a cause of concern unless it's excessive.

Pathological causes

Pathological causes of tachypnea include sepsis, compensation for diabetic ketoacidosis or other metabolic acidosis, pneumonia, pleural effusion, carbon monoxide poisoning, pulmonary embolism, asthma, COPD, laryngospasm, allergic reaction causing airway edema, foreign body aspiration, tracheobronchomalacia, congestive heart failure, anxiety states, haemorrhage, or many other medical issues.

Etymology and pronunciation

The word tachypnea () uses combining forms of tachy- + -pnea, yielding "fast breathing". See pronunciation information at dyspnea.

References

References

1. (2020). "StatPearls". StatPearls Publishing.
2. {{DorlandsDict. eight/000105545. tachypnea
3. Shestak EV, Kovtun OP, Ksenofontova OL; Kovtun OP (ed.). [https://elib.usma.ru/handle/usma/18576 Transient Tachypnea in Newborns]. Ekaterinburg: USMU; 2023. 144 p.
4. (2003). "Oxford concise medical dictionary". Oxford University Press.
5. (2007). "tachypnea". Saunders.
6. (April 2016). "The Journal of Pediatrics". Elsevier.