BACKGROUND Evidence evaluating the risk of pneumonia in patients with obstructive sleep apnea is limited and mostly focuses on patients who receive continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy or on pediatric patients. We aimed to explore the risk of incident pneumonia among adults with sleep apnea, either with or without the need of CPAP therapy. METHODS From Jan. 1, 2000, we identifie...

BACKGROUND Obstructive sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that can cause excessive daytime sleepiness and impairment of cognition. These symptoms may lead to the occurrence of occupational accidents in workers with obstructive sleep apnea. CASE PRESENTATION A 36-year-old man who worked as a dimensional control surveyor caused a vehicle accident while he was driving at the work site. Altho...

Introduction:The overlap syndrome, consisting ofobstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and chronic obstructvie pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major problem in COPD patients. OSHAS corresponds to the likelihood of systemic hypertension.The present study was aimed to evaluate the association between apnea-hypopnea index and diastolic blood presssure (DBP) in overlap  patients. Materials...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of sildenafil on the autonomic nervous system in patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea. METHODS Thirteen male patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea (mean age 43+/-10 years with a mean body mass index of 26.7+/-1.9 kg/m(2)) received a single 50-mg dose of sildenafil or a placebo at bedtime. All-night polysomnography and heart rate variability wer...

OBJECTIVE The severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) correlates with the difficulty of controlling BP. The mechanism, however, by which sleep apnea contributes to the development of resistant hypertension remains obscure. Having observed a high prevalence of OSA among hypertensive subjects with primary hyperaldosteronism, we hypothesized a possible association between sleep apnea and aldoste...

STUDY OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study were (1) to assess the prevalence of patent foramen ovale (PFO) by means of contrast transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea, and (2) to determine the potential contribution of right to left interatrial shunting to systemic oxygen desaturation following the performance of Valsalva maneuver. DESIGN Performanc...

BACKGROUND Obesity causes sleep disturbance and is the most significant risk factor for sleep apnea. Only surgical methods provide substantial sustained weight loss for most severely obese subjects. OBJECTIVE To study sleep disturbance in patients undergoing laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding with a commercially available product (Lap-Band). METHODS In this study, 313 consecutive patie...

In order to examine myoglobin (Mb) function and metabolic responses of seal muscle during progressive ischemia and hypoxemia, Mb saturation and high-energy phosphate levels were monitored with NMR spectroscopy during sleep apnea in elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris). Muscle blood flow (MBF) was measured with laser-Doppler flowmetry (LDF). During six, spontaneous, 8-12 min apneas of an unr...