Sedation and anesthesia are common triggers of respiratory compromise, which often manifests as depression of respiratory drive, airway occlusion, and resultant hypoxemia and hypercarbia. The respiratory compromise cascade (Figure 11.1) can be understood as a set of states through which a patient moves from respiratory insufficiency toward respiratory failure and, ultimately, respiratory arrest. While the movement of a patient through the cascade is not linear, the effect of increasing momentum with progression to each phase occurs. Therefore, the later the patient is recognized in the cascade, the more serious the interventions to restore normal gas exchange become.