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What is respiratory failure?
Your lungs give your body oxygen when you breathe. They also remove the waste product carbon dioxide from your body. Respiratory failure happens when the lungs aren't able to move enough oxygen into the blood and move enough carbon dioxide out of the blood. This is a severe problem that may need to be treated in intensive care.
Many things can cause lung failure. They include pneumonia and other serious infections. The doctor will look for the cause of the problem and then treat it if possible.
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