%0 Journal Article %A Robert Baker %A Neil Gibson %A Philip Davies %T Oximetry screening alone is not sufficient to identify nocturnal hypoventilation in Duchenne muscular dystrophy %D 2016 %R 10.1183/13993003.congress-2016.PA4350 %J European Respiratory Journal %P PA4350 %V 48 %N suppl 60 %X Background: In Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) nocturnal hypoventilation carries a poor prognosis but can be successfully treated with Non-Invasive Ventilation (NIV). The British Thoracic Society Guideline recommends screening and states that clinically significant hypoventilation (CO2>6.5kPa) is unlikely to occur in the absence of oxygen desaturation below 93%, recommending overnight oximetry as a sufficient screening method. However many centres perform transcutaneous oxicapnography (TOSCA) studies.Aim: To see whether CO2 measurement confers additional benefit to oxygen saturations alone as part of screening in patients with DMD.Method: All DMD patients in the West of Scotland who had had screening TOSCA studies performed were identified and the oximetry and CO2 profiles were compared. Studies performed on NIV were excluded.Results: 33 patients aged 7-26 years had 71 TOSCA studies performed. No correlation was found between mean CO2 and mean saturations (r2=0.03), desaturation index (r2=0.04), nadir of saturations (r2=0.09), % time with sats <90% (r2=0.02). Numerous examples of patients with elevated CO2 and unremarkable saturation profiles are seen.Conclusion: Oxygen saturation monitoring alone is not an adequate screening tool and the addition of CO2 monitoring enabled appropriate identification of numerous patients who would otherwise have been missed. %U