title: Nocturnal hypoxaemia in patients with Eisenmenger syndrome: a cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of the study was to find the prevalence of sleep-related disturbances in patients of Eisenmenger syndrome.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective observational study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Tertiary care referral centre in North India.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 25 patients with Eisenmenger syndrome (mean age 25.2±9.6 years, 18 men) and 12 patients with cyanotic congenital heart disease with pulmonary stenosis physiology (mean age 20.5±8.5 years, 8 men) as controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  All the patients underwent an overnight comprehensive polysomnogram study and pulmonary function testing.
  
  
  METHODS
  Oxygen desaturation index, which is the number of oxygen drops per hour.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The patients and controls had significant nocturnal hypoxaemia in the absence of apnoea and hypopnoea. The mean oxygen drop index in Eisenmenger syndrome group was 9.0±6.2 and in the control group was 8.0±5.9 (p=0.63). The apnoea-hypopnoea index was 3.37±5.0 in the Eisenmenger syndrome group and was 2.1±3.6 in the control group. Patients with >10 oxygen drops per hour had significantly higher haemoglobin (17.2±1.3% vs 14.4±1.5%, p<0.001) than those with oxygen drops less than 10.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Eisenmenger syndrome patients have significant nocturnal hypoxaemia unrelated to hypopnoea and apnoea. Nocturnal desaturation occurred more frequently in patients with greater haemoglobin values.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Sivasubramanian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ramakrishnan
authors.forename: Rajnish
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Juneja
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bardolei
authors.forename: Ajay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Garima
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shukla
authors.forename: Manvir
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bhatia
authors.forename: Mani
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kalaivani
authors.forename: Shyam S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kothari
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saxena
authors.forename: Vinay K
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Bahl
authors.forename: Randeep
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guleria