Compensatory responses to increased mechanical abnormalities in COPD during sleep.

Purpose: To assess whether night-time increases in mechanical loading negatively impact respiratory muscle function in COPD and whether compensatory increases in inspiratory neural drive (IND) are adequate to stabilize ventilatory output and arterial oxygen saturation, especially during sleep when wakefulness drive is withdrawn.

Methods: 21 patients with moderate-to-severe COPD and 20 age-/sex-matched healthy controls (CTRL) participated in a prospective, cross-sectional, one-night study to assess the impact of COPD on serial awake, supine inspiratory capacity (IC) measurements and continuous dynamic respiratory muscle function (esophageal manometry) and IND (diaphragm electromyography, EMGdi) in supine sleep.

Results: Supine inspiratory effort and EMGdi were consistently twice as high in COPD versus CTRL (p < 0.

Deterioration of Nighttime Respiratory Mechanics in COPD: Impact of Bronchodilator Therapy.

Background: COPD is associated with nighttime respiratory symptoms, poor sleep quality, and increased risk of nocturnal death. Overnight deterioration of inspiratory capacity (IC) and FEV have been documented previously. However, the precise nature of this deterioration and mechanisms by which evening bronchodilation may mitigate this occurrence have not been studied.