TY - JOUR T1 - Network-based assessment of sleep apnea syndrome treatment response JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J VL - 44 IS - Suppl 58 SP - P2215 AU - Alexandru Topirceanu AU - Mihai Udrescu AU - Ana Muresan AU - Stefan Mihaicuta Y1 - 2014/09/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/44/Suppl_58/P2215.abstract N2 - Objectives. To predict the response to CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) treatment on patients with risk of OSA (Obstructive Sleep Apnea) based on the multiple network connections of risk factors in a relevant population (Mihaicuta et. al, ERJ Sept. 2013, pp.407s).Methods. A database of 1598 patients (145 with one-night CPAP therapy) from Timisoara “Victor Babes” Hospital (2005-2013) was used to define a methodology inspired by the Network Medicine approach. Patients represent nodes and are linked if there is a risk compatibility between them. Compatibility exists if the two nodes have at least 4 out of 6 identical parameters: gender, age group, blood pressure, obesity (BMI), neck circumference, and Epworth scale.Results. Four distinct clusters emerge from the network analysis, defining distinct patterns of response towards CPAP treatment. These prove that only patients with a large neck circumference have a good CPAP treatment response. Thus, men with a normal sized neck, and women in general, are less responsive to CPAP treatment, even if overall healthier (no HTA, obesity), the responsiveness dropping from >90% to 70%.Conclusion. Measuring simple parameters and using the Network Medicine approach has brought into light a very simple yet important prerequisite of CPAP treatment for OSA patients. This also raises the need for developing other procedures of treatment for patients who fit in the non-responsive compatibility clusters. ER -