Variance over time of the obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) in patients with acute stroke

OSAS is a cardiovascular risk factor with a high prevalence in patients with acute stroke in whom could be related to a worse prognosis and an increased mortality. The aims are to evaluate the evolution and the prognostic role of OSAS in stroke patients. This is a prospective study in which a respiratory polygraphic (RP) evaluation was performed 7 days after stroke (acute phase) and was repeated on the third month (stable phase). 42 of 52 patients were included (age 69±12.5 years, 54.8% male, BMI 27±4 kg/m2, Epworth 7±3.6) and the RP was repeated on the 3rd month in 30 patients. The acute and stable phase studies showed a predominant hypopnoeas' pattern. View this table: Table 1. OSAS' prevalence by AHI View this table: Table 2. Acute & stable phase RP data The results suggest that OSA' study in acute stroke can lead to an overestimation of the prevalence of severe OSA, because it significantly reduce its severity in the stable phase. This information may be important when taking the decision to start CPAP treatment in acute stroke. In accordance with previous studies, there wasn't found any relationship between OSA' presence and the stroke functional outcome on the 3rd month.