 The patient is a 71-year-old lady who came in with increased shortness of breath of one day duration. She denied history of chest pain or fevers or cough with purulent sputum at that time. She was empirically treated with a course of antibiotics of Avelox for ten days. She also received steroids, prednisolone 60 mg, and breathing treatments with albuterol, Ipratropium and her bronchodilator therapy was also optimized with theophylline. She continued to receive Coumadin for her chronic atrial fibrillation. Her heart rate was controlled and was maintained in the 60s-70s. On the third day of admission she developed worsening respiratory failure with fatigue, and hence was required to be intubated and ventilated. She was put on mechanical ventilation from 1/29 to 2/6/06. She was extubated on 2/6 and put on BI-PAP. The pressures were gradually increased from 10 and 5 to 15 of BI-PAP and 5 of E-PAP with FIO2 of 35% at the time of transfer to Kindred. Her bronchospasm also responded to the aggressive bronchodilation and steroid therapy.