PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - O. Parra
AU  - Á. Sánchez-Armengol
AU  - M. Bonnin
AU  - A. Arboix
AU  - F. Campos-Rodríguez
AU  - J. Pérez-Ronchel
AU  - J. Durán-Cantolla
AU  - G. de la Torre
AU  - J.R. González Marcos
AU  - M. de la Peña
AU  - M. Carmen Jiménez
AU  - F. Masa
AU  - I. Casado
AU  - M. Luz Alonso
AU  - J.L. Macarrón
TI  - Early treatment of obstructive apnoea and stroke outcome: a randomised controlled trial
AID  - 10.1183/09031936.00034410
DP  - 2011 May 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - 1128--1136
VI  - 37
IP  - 5
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/37/5/1128.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/37/5/1128.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2011 May 01; 37
AB  - The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) in ischaemic stroke patients followed for 2 yrs.Stroke patients with an apnoea–hypopnoea index ≥20 events·h−1 were randomised to early nCPAP (n = 71; 3–6 days after stroke onset) or conventional treatment (n = 69). The Barthel Index, Canadian Scale, Rankin Scale and Short Form-36 were measured at baseline, and at 1, 3, 12 and 24 months.The percentage of patients with neurological improvement 1 month after stroke was significantly higher in the nCPAP group (Rankin scale 90.9 versus 56.3% (p<0.01); Canadian scale 88.2 versus 72.7% (p<0.05)). The mean time until the appearance of cardiovascular events was longer in the nCPAP group (14.9 versus 7.9 months; p = 0.044), although cardiovascular event-free survival after 24 months was similar in both groups. The cardiovascular mortality rate was 0% in the nCPAP group and 4.3% in the control group (p = 0.161).Early use of nCPAP seems to accelerate neurological recovery and to delay the appearance of cardiovascular events, although an improvement in patients’ survival or quality of life was not shown.