Effect of nasal continuous positive airway pressure on neuropsychological function in sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome - A randomized, placebo-controlled trial
Kg. Henke et al., Effect of nasal continuous positive airway pressure on neuropsychological function in sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome - A randomized, placebo-controlled trial, AM J R CRIT, 163(4), 2001, pp. 911-917
A placebo-controlled, partial cross-over, double-blind, randomized study wa
s performed with 46 adults with sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) to det
ermine the effect of therapeutic and subtherapeutic (0-1 cm H2O) nasal cont
inuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment on polysomnographic and ne
uropsychological testing. The following neuropsychological tests were admin
istered: Geriatric Depression Scale, Trail Making A and B, Digit Span Test
Forward and Backward, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, SteerClear, Digit Symbol, C
ontrolled Oral Word Association, and Complex Figure Recall. Compared with r
esults without CPAP, subtherapeutic CPAP did not affect any measured polyso
mnographic parameter. Comparison of neuropsychological test results obtaine
d between the initial periods of effective treatment (Group 1, 16.1 d; Grou
p 2, 19.6 d; p = NS) in all subjects showed significant improvements in Dig
it Symbol, Digit Span Backward, and Complex Figure tests. However, there we
re no group differences in changes in test results during the period when o
ne group was on effective CPAP and the other on ineffective CPAP (Group 1,
16.1 d; Group 2, 13.9 d; p = NS). The results indicate the feasibility and
importance of using ineffective CPAP as a placebo treatment and the importa
nce of including a placebo control in studies evaluating the effect of trea
tment on neuropsychological function in SAHS.