Abstract
Two patients with Pickwickian syndrome had severe obstruction symptom of the upper airway. The first patient was a 20-year-old male student, whose schizophrenic reactions obliged us to suspend tonsillectomy; he died of acute respiratory insufficiency caused by acute inflammatory complications. The second patient was a 9-year-old boy, whose sleep apnea was greatly improved after adeno-tonsillectomy. The mechanism of dyspnea in the two cases was discussed on the basis of a review of the literature.
