title: Transient increase in epileptiform discharges after the introduction of nasal continuous positive airway pressure in a patient with obstructive sleep apnea and epilepsy.
abstract: In patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and epilepsy, the frequency of generalized spike and wave complexes (GSWCs) usually decreases after the initiation of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) therapy. However, we herein report a patient who had a transient increase in GSWCs following nCPAP treatment. A woman with epilepsy underwent polysomnography, who showed severe OSA and 30 GSWCs during the sleep study. Polysomnography at the introduction nCPAP showed that the GSWCs increased to 94 times during the monitoring period, despite improvement of her OSA. Polysomnography was again performed four months later, and the GSWCs had decreased to 23 times. Physicians should therefore be cautious regarding a possible increase in epileptiform discharges and seizures immediately after the introduction of nCPAP.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory Care and Sleep Control Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Japan.
authors.forename: Takefumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hitomi
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Oga
authors.forename: Tomomasa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsuboi
authors.forename: Chikara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yoshimura
authors.forename: Takeo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Ryosuke
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chin
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D015897:Comorbidity; D045422:Continuous Positive Airway Pressure; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017286:Polysomnography; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome