Hong Kong Med J 2007;13(Suppl 5):S37-41
Nocturnal nasal positive pressure ventilation for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
DSC Hui
Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong
1. Non-invasive ventilation is well-tolerated by hypercapnic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients during exacerbations and quickly results in improvements of acidosis.
2. However in the severe stable phase, the tolerance for bilevel positive airway pressure is very poor and patients do not perceive the benefit as in acute exacerbations.
3. Concomitant obstructive sleepdisordered breathing (overlap syndrome) occurred in 13% of our patients, whose prevalence was no higher than in other populations. Most COPD patients with sleep-disordered breathing are not sleepy and hence routine sleep study is not recommended for patients with COPD.
2. However in the severe stable phase, the tolerance for bilevel positive airway pressure is very poor and patients do not perceive the benefit as in acute exacerbations.
3. Concomitant obstructive sleepdisordered breathing (overlap syndrome) occurred in 13% of our patients, whose prevalence was no higher than in other populations. Most COPD patients with sleep-disordered breathing are not sleepy and hence routine sleep study is not recommended for patients with COPD.