CPAP treatment in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and obstructive sleep apnea--therapeutic difficulties and dilemmas.

摘要

Recently published studies [1-4] report an increased incidence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Underlying and usually under-diagnosed OSA in these patients may be a reason for impaired sleep quality and may consequently have a negative influence on their daily activities and overall quality of life [5-7]. The absence of any effective treatment for IPF so far indicates that the recognition and treatment of generally underdiagnosed OSA in IPF patients should be a primary goal [1, 2, 5]. A major diagnostic problem in this population is related to the fact that the clinical presentation of OSA is often not typical, while generally accepted screening tools, such as the Epworth sleepiness scale or OSA-specific questionnaires, have several limitations to their diagnostic sensitivity [1, 3].