title: The therapeutic effect of theophylline in mild obstructive sleep Apnea/Hypopnea syndrome: results of repeated measurements with portable recording devices at home.
abstract: Theophylline has been recommended in the literature as a therapeutic option in mild OSAHS. In mild obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS), night-to-night variability of parameters of sleep-disordered breathing has been determined rarely, we therefore compared the results of serial measurements of sleep apnea/hypopnea parameters under the effects of placebo and theophylline. To this end, we measured the individual variability of the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) for seven consecutive nights using a portable sleep apnea recording device, in 14 subjects (2 women, 12 men, mean age +/- [standard deviation] 50 +/- 8 years), treated with placebo or theophylline in a double blind, randomized crossover fashion, whose polysomnographically measured AHI was 13 +/- 5 /hour. Under theophylline treatment in comparison with placebo we observed a small but significant decrease in mean (of seven days) AHI at home (9.2 +/- 7.7 to 6.7 +/- 6.1 /hour), which was independent of body position. The night-to-night variability of AHI at home was high (9. 2 +/- 8.9 /hour; range: 0-31.4 /hour) and proved to be independent of body position and alcohol consumption. - In mild OSAHS, repeated measurements of sleep related breathing events should be performed. Theophylline showed a small but clinically insignificant potencial to reduce AHI.
authors.affiliation: Krankenhaus Grosshansdorf, Zentrum für Pneumologie und Thoraxchirurgie, Wöhrendamm 80, D-22927 Grosshansdorf, Germany. Holger.Hein@T-online.de
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hein
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Behnke
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Jörres
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Magnussen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001993:Bronchodilator Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004864:Equipment and Supplies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010045:Outpatients; D017286:Polysomnography / Q000379:methods; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013806:Theophylline / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D001993:Bronchodilator Agents; D013806:Theophylline