Echocardiographic changes with positive airway pressure in obesity hypoventilation syndrome. Pickwick study

There are no randomized controlled trials assessing the impact of noninvasive ventilation (NIV) and continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on cardiac function in obesity hypoventilation syndrome (OHS). Objective: To determine the efficacy of 2 months of NIV, CPAP or lifestyle modification (control) on echocardiographic changes. Method: OHS patients (n=302) were sequentially randomized by: 1) severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), into NIV, CPAP or control; 2) non-severe OSA, into NIV or control. ABG, spirometry, six-minute walk distance, Epworth sleepiness scale, polysomnography and transthoracic echocardiogram were evaluated. Results: We analyzed 2 groups: 1) with or without severe OSA and NIV or control treatments (entire OHS group; n=222); 2) with severe OSA and NIV, CPAP or control treatments (severe OSA subgroup; n=221). In the entire OHS group, NIV improved the left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (mass index: -6.6 g/m2; 95%CI -11/-2.1 vs 3.6; 95%CI -1.1/8.3; adjusted p Conclusion: Medium-term NIV therapy is more effective than CPAP and lifestyle modification in improving PAP and LV hypertrophy in OHS