Pregnancy, sleep disordered breathing and treatment with nasal continuous positive airway pressure.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the tolerance, compliance and problems associated with usage of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) by pregnant women with sleep disordered breathing (SDB).


METHODS
Twelve pregnant women diagnosed with SDB received polysomnography (PSG) at entry, CPAP titration, repeat PSG at 6 months gestation (GA) and home monitoring of cardio-respiratory variables at 8 months GA. Compliance was verified by the pressure at the mask. Results from the Epworth sleepiness scale, fatigue scale and visual analogue scales (VAS) for sleepiness, fatigue, and snoring were compared over time.


RESULTS
All of the subjects had full term pregnancies and healthy infants. Nightly compliance was at least 4 h initially and 6.5 h at 6 months GA. Nasal CPAP significantly improved all scales compared to entry. VAS scores remained lower at 6 months GA compared to entry. Re-adjustment of CPAP pressure was needed in six subjects at 6 months GA.


CONCLUSIONS
Nasal CPAP is a safe and effective treatment of SDB during pregnancy.
Guilleminault
Christian
C
Stanford University Sleep Disorders Clinic, 401 Quarry Road, Suite 3301, Stanford, CA 94305, USA. cguil@leland.stanford.edu
Kreutzer
Martina
M
Chang
Judy L
JL
D000328:Adult; D006970:Disorders of Excessive Somnolence / Q000453:epidemiology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005221:Fatigue / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D010349:Patient Compliance; D017286:Polysomnography; D011175:Positive-Pressure Respiration / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy*; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000502:physiology