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Die Schwangerschaft hat einen erheblichen Einfluss auf Atmungsregulation und Atemmechanik sowie auf die Schlafregulation: Durch seine Größenzunahme schränkt der Uterus zwar die maximale willkürliche Ventilation ein, das Schwangerschaftshormon Progesteron hingegen bewirkt eine kompensierende Bronchodilatation und eine markante Hyperventilation mit arteriellen PCOPregnancy has a significant influence on respiratory regulation and respiratory mechanics as well as on sleep regulation. Due to its increased size, the uterus restricts the maximum voluntary ventilation; the pregnancy hormone progresterone, on the other hand, causes compensatory bronchodilatation and marked hyperventilation with arterial PCO

Sleep-related breathing disorders (SDB), especially Cheyne-Stokes respiration (CSR), have prognostic relevance in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). Thus, we investigated acute effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy on breathing during sleep.Beside a cardiopulmonary investigation, breathing during sleep was analysed polygraphically/polysomnographically on the night before and during the second night after implantation of a biventricular pacemaker for cardiac resynchronization.We investigated 16 consecutive patients with severe CHF (NYHA class III-IV) and widened QRS complexes (QRS150 ms) with the indication for cardiac resynchronization therapy independent of this study.Cardiac resynchronization therapy shortened the QRS time in each and every patient (QRS: 167.3 +/- 21.7 ms to 113.0 +/- 19.0 ms; p0.001) as a marker for successful resynchronization. Initially, SDB were diagnosed in 11 of the 16 patients studied (69 %), with 7 patients having CSR (44 %) and 4 patients (25 %) having CSR and obstructive sleep apnoea. With cardiac resynchronization therapy, no significant acute changes were seen regarding nocturnal breathing/breathing disorder, heart frequency, or oxygen saturation.The established positive effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy are rather due to a chronic improvement of cardiopulmonary interactions (remodelling, circulatory time, or chemosensitivity) than to acute effects, as investigated in this study.

In patients with COPD and isolated night time hypoxemia, oxygen administration has not shown any effects on life expectancy and the development of pulmonal arterial hypertension. The aim of the present pilot study was to investigate the influence of nocturnal oxygen therapy on the quality of life in daytime normoxemic COPD patients with nocturnal oxygen desaturations.19 patients with COPD, in a stable phase of the disease without need for oxygen supplementation under rest (PaO2 62.7 +/- 4.9 mmHg) and nocturnal hypoxemia (t90 = 55.5 +/- 33.4 % of registration time, mean SaO2 89.8 +/- 1.9 %, minimal SaO2 81.1 +/- 4.8 %) were randomly assigned to either oxygen or placebo treatment, both generated by identical concentrator devices. Each treatment period lasted 6 weeks, after six weeks a cross-over was performed by a technician. Quality of life was assessed before and at the end of each treatment period by the SF-36, Nottingham Health Profile and Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire.Significant differences for the comparison of placebo and verum were only seen for the dimension sleep (NHP), all other dimensions showed no differences between placebo and oxygen. However, both placebo and oxygen improved the majority of the quality of life items significantly.The prescription of supplemental oxygen in COPD patients with isolated nocturnal hypoxemia in the present pilot study is not able to improve the quality of life within 6 weeks after initiation of therapy. It cannot, therefore, be generally recommended, but may be indicated in patients with a documented improvement of sleep quality.

The prevalence of clinically relevant, obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) in the general population is 2% in women and 4% in men. With increasing age and onset of postmenopausal status, the prevalence of OSAS in women becomes comparable to that of males. However, compared to prevalence data, women are under-represented in clinical sleep laboratories. The present overview deals with the potential reasons for clinical under-recognition of OSAS in women. The fact that OSAS frequency is underestimated in women probably derives from the atypical clinical symptoms, dominated by difficulties of initiating and maintaining sleep and by a depressive mood. There are several protecting mechanisms in women that prevent or postpone OSAS development to higher age groups or until the onset of menopause. These factors include craniofacial morphology and function, gender-specific body-fat distribution and hormonal influences on ventilation and dilating muscles in the oropharynx. Physicians should be aware of the presence of sleep-disordered breathing in women and of their special features.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a nocturnal breathing disorder with possibly negative consequences on daytime control of ventilatory drive. We therefore investigated ventilatory efficiency, defined as the ventilatory equivalent for CO2 (VaE/VaCO2), in patients with OSAS during exercise before and under treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).In 21 patients with untreated OSAS, ventilatory efficiency, described as the slope (DeltaVaE vs. VaCO2) and the lowest ratio (VaE/VaCO2 min) of the ventilatory equivalent for CO2, was determined below the anaerobic threshold using spiroergometry. A follow-up after at least 6 months of CPAP therapy was performed in 16 of these patients and in 5 CPAP-neglecting patients with OSAS, who served as controls.In 21 patients with untreated OSAS, DeltaVaE vs. VaCO2 was significantly and VaE/VaCO2 min non-significantly lower, revealing better ventilatory efficiency, compared to normal values. In 16 patients, ventilatory efficiency did not change after on average 305.7 +/- 104.8 nights of CPAP-therapy, compared to 5 controls.OSAS is not associated with a disturbed ventilatory efficiency during exercise. Long-term CPAP-therapy does not change ventilatory efficiency during exercise in patients with OSAS. The improved ventilatory efficiency during exercise compared to normal controls may be due to differences concerning anthropometric data (e. g., obesity, hypertension) and cardiopulmonary exercise-test (45 degrees lying position).

Many patients with the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) look for alternative conservative or surgical therapies to avoid to be treated with continuous positive airway pressure. In view of the high prevalence and the relevant impairment of the patients lots of methods are offered which promise definitive cure or relevant improvement of OSAS. The working group "Apnea" in the German Society of Sleep Medicine and Research established a task force to evaluate the scientific literature on non-CPAP therapies in the treatment of OSAS according to the standards of evidence-based medicine. This paper summarizes the results of the task force. The data were unsatisfactorily for most of the methods. Sufficient data were available for intraoral appliances (IOA) and the maxillomandibular osteotomy (MMO). IOA's can reduce mild to moderate respiratory disturbances, MMO are efficient in the short and long term but are performed only in special situations such as craniofacial dysmorphias. Weight reduction and body positioning cannot be recommended as a single treatment of OSAS. Most surgical procedures still lack sufficient data according to the criteria of evidence based medicine. Resections of muscular tissue within the soft palate have to be strictly avoided. But even success following gentle soft palate procedures is difficult to predict and often decreases after years. Results in other anatomical regions seem to be more stable over time. Today combined surgeries in the sense of multi-level surgery concepts are of increasing interest in the secondary treatment after failure of nasal ventilation therapy although more data from prospective controlled studies are needed. There is no evidence for any other treatment options.

Patients with COPD present with impairments of their cognitive performance. The present study compares intelligence and memory performance as well as different aspects of attention in COPD patients and healthy controls. Additionally, potential factors influencing daytime performance are analyzed.Neuropsychological testing was performed in 32 patients with COPD and 10 normal controls. The following aspects were evaluated: memory, intelligence, simple, selective and divided attention, sustained attention under stress and under monotonous conditions.There were no differences between COPD patients and normals with regard to divided attention, vigilance and memory. Patients with COPD demonstrated significantly worse results in terms of intelligence (p0.01) as well as simple (p0.01), selective (p0.05) and sustained attention (p0.01). No correlation existed between the severity of the disease (lung function, blood gas analysis, nocturnal oxygen saturation) and neuropsychological findings. Merely a relationship between memory function and slow-wave sleep or REM sleep was demonstrated.Impairments of cognitive performance in patients with COPD cannot be predicted on the basis of the severity of the disease. Therefore neuropsychological testing is recommended, especially when impairment of daytime function has to be quantified.

nCPAP-therapy is standard for patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). This study investigated, if nCPAP changed the patients lung function.Lung function of 228 OSAS patients without co-prevalent lung disease, who received nCPAP for the first time, was examined (whole body plethysmography, spirometry, and blood gas analysis). After 1, 2, and 3 years the results of the re-examined patients were compared with their individual starting results.The results of the patients in the basic and in the follow-up examinations was within standard range. During reexamination, an improvement of inspiratory vital capacity was registered repetitively, especially in smokers. On the other hand, MEF 50 decreased within the first two years and FEV (1) %VC, but not FEV (1), decreased after 2 and 3 years of reexamination.Neither obstructive nor restrictive lung diseases were diagnosed under nCPAP-therapy within three years. This study with a retrospective design showed significant improvements of vital capacity (VC) in patients with OSAS, especially in smokers, under nCPAP-therapy. This increase can be explained by an effect of practice in the examination and by recruitment of formerly hypoventilated lung areas. As MEF 50 and FEV (1) %VC depend on VC, the decrease of both parameters may be caused by the increase of VC. In summary, nCPAP did not cause negative effects of lung function in the investigated patients over a period of 3 years.

Bronchial carcinoids are rare neuroendocrine tumors of the lung. Diagnosis is established by computed tomography (CT) and bronchoscopy-guided biopsy. Imaging features of carcinoids are highly characteristic including contrast enhancement and central intraluminal growth. Multislice-CT generated three-dimensional virtual bronchoscopy enables non-invasive and detailed view of the tracheobronchial system.A 70-year-old male with known silicosis and chronic cough with hemoptysis showed hypertransparency of the left lung on conventional images. Axial CT scans revealed a solid tumor in the left lower lobe. Virtual CT-bronchoscopy based on surface rendering depicted an intraluminal mass occluding the bronchus of the anterobasal segment that was confirmed by conventional endoscopy. Conventional and virtual bronchoscopy showed almost identical imaging features. Histopathological evaluation of the bioptic specimen revealed a typical carcinoid tumor. The patient successfully underwent resection of the left lower lobe with mediastinal lymphadenectomy.Virtual Multislice-CT-bronchoscopy can add important information about an intraluminal tumor and its relation to surrounding structures. Further studies have to be undertaken to evaluate the potentials of this promising method as a tool to determine endoluminal growth in tumorous lung lesions.

We present the case of a 51-year old man with drug-resistant pneumonia in the upper right lobe, weight loss and a 50-pack year history of cigarette smoking who underwent bronchoscopy. By clinical and radiological findings bronchogenic cancer was assumed. Fiberbronchoscopy showed an exophytic tumor-like mass obliterating the right upper lobe. Biopsies revealed an epithelial pseudopapillomatous tumor with multiple mucosal dysplasia and metaplasia. A second bronchoscopy in order to remove the lesion revealed a foreign body embedded in the tissue which could be removed easily. The foreign body proved to be a cherry stone, after its removal pneumonia resolved completely. In the same patient this lesion was recurrent one year later after aspiration of a grape seed. We present this case to emphasize the relationship between foreign body aspiration and inflammatory pseudopapilloma as a sequela of the inflammatory insult provoked by foreign bodies. Bronchoscopy is mandatory and may obviate misdiagnosis and thoracotomy. The use of inhaled and systemic steroids can be used to facilitate successful endoscopic extraction.

Patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) have an accident rate between two and seven times higher than normals. Investigations on accident frequency are based on case history, insurancy reports, and driving simulator investigations. The present controlled study was planned to test whether an increased accident risk could be demonstrated in patients with OSAS before and on CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure)-therapy using the driving simulator C.A.R. Driving simulator performance was investigated in 31 patients with polysomnographically confirmed OSAS (apnea-hypopnea-index 24.8 +/- 21.5/h) before, 2 and 42 days after initiation of CPAP and was compared to 10 healthy controls in whom OSAS was excluded by polysomnography. Driving simulator performance was significantly worse in OSAS as compared to normals especially in terms of accident frequency (OSAS: 2.7 +/- 2.0, controls: 1.3 +/- 1.5, p0.05) and concentration faults (OSAS: 12.4 +/- 5.1, controls: 7.1 +/- 3.2, p0.01). On CPAP accident frequency (OSAS before therapy: 12.4 +/- 5.1, 2 days CPAP: 1.5 +/- 1.4, p0.01; 42 days CPAP: 0.9 +/- 1.3, p0.001) and frequency of concentration faults (OSAS before therapy: 12.4 +/- 5.1, 2 days CPAP: 6.5 +/- 3.9, p0.001; 42 days CPAP: 4.9 +/- 3.3, p0.001) could be lowered significantly both in the short and medium term of therapy. The driving simulator C.A.R. is an adequate tool for the evaluation of an increased accident risk in OSAS-patients and demonstrates the efficiency of CPAP-therapy.

Sleep related hypoxemia (SRH) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be easily detected by pulse-oximetry and may contribute to the development of pulmonary hypertension (PH). Since several parameters for the quantification of SRH are in use, we investigated which of these parameters has the strongest relation to the awake pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) and is able to distinguish between patients without and with PH.44 COPD-patients (awake PaO2or = 60 mm Hg) were investigated. PAP at rest (PAP; pathological threshold20 mm Hg) and under physical exercise (PAPB; p.t.28 mm Hg) were determined during daytime by Swan-Ganz-catheter. To quantify the degree of SRH the following parameters of nocturnal pulse-oximetry were used: mean nocturnal oxygen saturation (SaO2 m; p.t.90%), nadir SaO2 (SaO2 min; p.t.85%), and mean time of SaO2or = 90% in relation to total time of registration (t90; p.t.30%). Linear correlations and regressions as Chi 2-respectively Fisher-test were used for statistical analysis (p0.05).Generally there was only a weak relation between PAP and SRH. The best linear correlation at rest respectively under physical exercise was found between PAP and SaO2 min (r = -0.529 resp. -0.541, p0.001). Using the above defined thresholds for PAP and SaO2 patients could be most precisely separated into those without and with PH using SaO2 min with a threshold for the pathological range of85% (p = 0.030 resp. 0.002). t90 with a threshold30%, however, had a much worse selectivity (p = 0.487 resp. 0.057).In COPD-patients with SRH the closest relation can be found between nadir SaO2 and PAP resp. PAPB. Furthermore nadir SaO2 (85%) could more precisely separate patients into those without and with pulmonary hypertension than t90. The overall weak relation between nocturnal oxygenation and pulmonary hypertension shows, however, that other factors such as daytime PaO2, hypercapnia or emphysema are involved in the development of pulmonary hypertension in COPD.

The effect of inhaled long-acting beta 2-agonists on obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is unknown, though from the pharmacological point of view both therapeutic and adverse effects might be discussed. The purpose of this study was to obtain data on the efficacy and safety of Salmeterol in patients with OSAS. In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study effects of Salmeterol were investigated in 20 patients with OSAS: 4 female, 16 male; age 53.0 +/- 7.8 years, body mass index (BMI) 28.0 +/- 3.0 kg.m-2; apnoea hypopnoea index (AHI) 35.6 +/- 17.8 h-1. Patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and left heart failure were excluded. Placebo or verum (50 micrograms Salmeterol) were administered at 7 p.m. by metered dose inhaler and spacer device. All patients underwent full polysomnography during baseline, placebo, and verum night. Statistical analysis was performed by Student's t-test (p0.05). Between placebo and verum there were no differences in total sleep time, sleep stages, apnoea index (AI), AHI, and nadir SaO2. There was, however, a significant deterioration of mean SaO2 (placebo 93.1 +/- 2.0 vs Salmeterol 92.5 +/- 2.2%) and of relative time spent with SaO2or = 90% (placebo 13.1 +/- 14.5 vs Salmeterol 19.5 +/- 20.8%), as well as a significant increase in heart rate (placebo 63.1 +/- 9.2 vs Salmeterol 65.6 +/- 9.3 h-1). Thus, in patients with OSAS Salmeterol had no adverse effect on quality of sleep, AI or AHI. The slight increase in heart rate and the deterioration of oxygen saturation are clinically irrelevant. The latter might be due to ventilation-perfusion-mismatch. This study demonstrates that Salmeterol has no influence on obstructive sleep apnoea and hypopnoea, but on the other hand provides an acceptable safety profile in OSAS. This might be of special importance in patients suffering from both OSAS and obstructive airway disease.

A skin prick test was performed in 75 patients with an obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) to test allergic skin reactivity to 18 common inhalant allergens. Additionally, anterior rhinomanometry was performed. Results were compared with a group of 21 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and with 198 workers of the chemical industry. A positive (or = 4 mm wheal diameter) skin test to at least one allergene was present in 49 per cent of the OSAS patients, compared to 14 per cent in COPD patients and 28 per cent in industrial workers (p0.05; chi 2-test)-33 per cent (n = 25) of the OSAS patients with a sleep apnea syndrome showed skin reactivity to house dust mite (D. ph., D. f.) compared to 9.5 per cent in COPD patients and 12.6 per cent in industrial workers (p0.05 chi 2-test). No difference was found between anthropometric, polysomnographic, or rhinomanometric data comparing OSAS patients with positive skin reactions against house dust mites (n = 25) and those without any allergic skin reactivity (n = 38).

Data concerning the occurrence of chronic-obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) vary between 11 and 20% due to the underlying definition of COPD. We investigated the frequency of COPD in 202 patients with OSAS. The obstructive pattern was defined by bodyplethysmography (Rt0.35 kPa x 1(-1) x s(-1)), flow-volume-curve (MEF5050% pred.), Tiffeneau-index (FEV1/IVC70% pred.) and anamnesis (cough and/or sputum). Prevalence of COPD in our 202 patients with OSAS was 16.3%. Patients with OSAS and COPD had a higher body-mass-index (BMI), lower PaO2 and spent more time in an oxygen saturationor = 90% in relation to total recording time (t90). Polysomnographically there was no difference between the two groups with regard to the ventilatory parameters apnea-index (AI) and apnea-hypopnea-index (AHI). As there is a high risk of developing hypercapnia, pulmonary arterial hypertension and cor pulmonale in patients with OSAS and COPD there is need for early diagnosis of the combination of both diseases.

A 48-year old patient complaining of immitigable coughing with purulent and sanguineous sputum and a loss of weight of 8 kg within the last three months was admitted to our hospital. Due to anamnesis and radiological findings (tumor of the right side upper lung field with infiltration of the chest wall and the mediastinum) we suspected a bronchogenic carcinoma. As bronchoscopy and histological examinations of biopsies revealed no hints to the underlying disease, we submitted the patient to a right side explorative thoracotomy. It showed a tumorous involvement of the right side upper lung field with infiltration and partial destruction of the chest wall and infiltration of the apical segment of the lower lobe of the lung and a phlegmonous infiltration of the paratracheal tissue. Histological examination confirmed chronical course of actinomycosis. Therapy consisted in resection of the affected tissue and long-term administration of antibiotics. Response to therapy was excellent concerning both radiological findings and subjective complaints.

The therapeutic effect in application of n-CPAP therapy (nasal continuous positive airway pressure) is dependent on both the acute effect of this therapy and the long-term acceptance and consequent palliation respectively avoidance of sequelae. We present 50 patients (47 male, 3 female) treated with n-CPAP therapy because of severe sleep-related disorders of breathing. All patients had polysomnography, and in addition questionnaires were mailed to all 50 patients in order to get information concerning the symptoms of sleep-related disorders of breathing before and under n-CPAP therapy, mode of therapy and side-effects in application of n-CPAP therapy. Patients were treated for at least three to a maximum of 25 months with n-CPAP (average 10.5 months). Long-term acceptance with n-CPAP was defined as persistent use of n-CPAP during every night for at least five hours. On average continuous positive airway pressure of 8.6 mbar (range 4-18) was effective in normalizing formerly severe pathological respiratory parameters. Apnea-index decreased from 22.8 to 2.17/h on average. Regarding the symptoms of sleep-related disorders of breathing before and under n-CPAP therapy, we saw that almost 100% of our patients complained of the main symptoms of sleep-related disorders of breathing. By regular n-CPAP application a complete reduction of these symptoms could be achieved in nearly 80% of patients. Long-term acceptance of n-CPAP therapy was reported by 78% of our patients who used their n-CPAP device every night for at least five hours.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

As there is a great demand for polysomnography, screening tests had to be established in the diagnosis of sleep-related disordered breathing. Oxygen saturation is often used as a main diagnostic criterion of these screening tests. In 207 patients (42 women, 165 men) suspected to suffer from a sleep apnea-syndrome we compared oxygen saturation (pulse oxymetry) with apnea-hypopnea-index (AHI, polysomnography). An AHIor = 5/h and a minimal oxygen saturation90% and/or more than 5 oxygen desaturations/hor = 4% were regarded as pathological. We found a good correlation of significant oxygen desaturations measured with pulse oxymetry and AHI (r = 0.85). Compared to AHI, pulse oxymetry was seen as a sensitive method (sensitivity 0.97) to recognize sleep apnea-patients. Coincidence of COPD decreased specificity of pulse oxymetry from 0.48 to 0.23 but had no influence on its sensitivity. 13 percent of the patients without further cardiorespiratory disease had a normal AHI (5/h) but a pathological pulse oxymetry. We conclude, that pulse oxymetry in combination with a positive case history is a sensitive method to recognize sleep apnea-patients. Not all sleep apnea-patients' can be diagnosed only by regarding AHI without taking oxygen saturation into account.

Central sleep apnoea syndromes (cSAS) represent a heterogeneous group of sleep-related disorders of breathing during sleep. cSAS may develop in the course of neurological syndromes or congestive heart failure. Frequency increases with age. A case of a 89-year old man is reported who was sent to hospital because of a state of confusion. He fell asleep all day with periods of restlessness during night. Sleep-related apnoeas could already be observed during daytime. Cardiopulmonary daytime diagnostics did not reveal any abnormal findings. Polysomnographic measurements, however, showed an apnoea-hypopnoea index of 37.8 apnoeas/hypopnoeas per hour with predominantly central apnoeas. Pernasal application of 1 litre of oxygen per minute during sleep normalised breathing patterns, daytime sleepiness, and the nighttime states of confusion stopped. Consequently, sleep-related disorders of breathing have to be considered in the differential diagnostics of unclear states of confusion in old age. In these cases polysomnography is indicated even in geriatric patients.