Pickwickian syndrome
Last edited 10/2021 and last reviewed 10/2021
Pickwickian syndrome is named after a character in Charles Dickens' book, "The Pickwick Papers". This character was obese and had a tendency to fall asleep during the day.
Pickwickian syndrome has become a term used to describe individuals who are obese, have some degree of respiratory failure during the day and suffer from cor pulmonale. There is a reliance on hypoxic drive for ventilation rather than hypercapnia.
Other features include:
- sleep apnoea
- episodic somnolence
- secondary polycythaemia
- right ventricular hypertrophy or failure
right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH)