A 52-year-old obese woman was admitted to our institution for evaluation of dyspnea and pulmonary hypertension (PH). Polysomnography revealed severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with an apnea hypopnea index of 99.8. Treatment with nocturnal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) resulted in correction of daytime hypoxemia, hypercapnia, and near-normalization of pulmonary artery pressure. T...

Active, nonanesthetized, tracheotomized rabbits were subjected to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for 4 days to determine the effects of chronic mechanical strain on lung and airway function. Rabbits were maintained for 4 days at a CPAP of 6 cmH(2)O (high CPAP), at a CPAP of 0 cmH(2)O (low CPAP), or without tracheostomy (no CPAP). After treatment with CPAP, changes in respiratory res...

Current literature was searched by using the MEDLINE database to find consistent evidence regarding the use of noninvasive mechanical ventilation in patients with acute cardiogenic pulmonary edema. 18 studies demonstrating that noninvasive ventilation applied by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or bilevel positive airway pressure (bilevel-PAP) is safe, and that the two approaches have...

Objective: To review the evidence as to whether continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) reduces postoperative pulmonary complications compared with standard care in patients undergoing major abdominal surgery. Data sources: OVID version of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, searched to November 2005. This search was supplemented by mail and phone fol...

INTRODUCTION Noninvasive continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is recognized as an effective treatment for severe airway obstruction in young children. The aim of the present study was to compare a clinical setting with a physiological setting of noninvasive CPAP in infants with nocturnal alveolar hypoventilation due to severe upper airway obstruction (UAO) or bronchopulmonary dysplasia (B...

A 52-yr-old man with a residual phase of schizophrenia developed sleep apnoea-hypopnoea syndrome (SAHS). After five days of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment, the patient developed an aggressive mood with incoherence, prominent hallucinations and agitation, and attempted to hit his relatives. He was finally admitted to the hospital with an acute psychotic episode. Withdrawal ...

Investigation and treatment of sleep apnoea/hypopnoea syndrome (SAHS) is placing increasing demands on healthcare resources. This workload may be reduced by using split-night studies instead of the standard full-nights of diagnostic polysomnography and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) titration. Split-night studies involve polysomnography in the first half of the night followed, if th...

Nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has been widely and safely used in the treatment of sleep disorders but has not been previously utilized for therapy of pulmonary atelectasis in adults. We observed three patients with significant atelectasis which was refractory to conventional chest physiotherapy. Bronchoscopy was not a viable therapeutic option in any patient. Therapy with con...

Obstructive sleep apnea is a chronic illness with increasing prevalence. In addition to associated cardiovascular comorbidities, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome has been linked to poor quality of life, occupational accidents, and motor vehicle crashes secondary to excessive daytime sleepiness. Although continuous positive airway pressure is the gold standard for sleep apnea treatment, its effe...