PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Pierluigi Carratù
AU  - Anna Cassano
AU  - Giuseppina D'Alba
AU  - Vitaliano N. Quaranta
AU  - Rosa Capozzo
AU  - Felice Gadaleta
AU  - Silvano Dragonieri
AU  - Isabella L. Simone
AU  - Giancarlo Logroscino
AU  - Onofrio Resta
TI  - Lower SNIP value is correlated to the need of intubation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
DP  - 2011 Sep 01
TA  - European Respiratory Journal
PG  - p2099
VI  - 38
IP  - Suppl 55
4099  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p2099.short
4100  - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/38/Suppl_55/p2099.full
SO  - Eur Respir J2011 Sep 01; 38
AB  - Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease which usually leads to respiratory failure, requiring Noninvasive Ventilation (NIV) or tracheostomy. No data exist on predictor factors of tracheostomy at the clinical onset of disease.A retrospective study was designed, in a population of 71 consecutive ALS patients (39 males), to evaluate anthropometric, clinical, and functional indicators of the need of tracheostomy, including age, sex, BMI, site of onset, time of diagnosis, co-morbidities, tobacco habit, traumas, sport activity, and sleep disorder breathing markers. Arterial Blood Gas analysis and respiratory functional test, including FVC, FEV1, as well as Sniff Nasal Inspiratory Pressure (SNIP) were also measured at first ambulatory control.We found that SNIP test, at first control, positively correlated to the need of tracheostomy (p<0.001) in the entire population observed. The mean SNIP test value of the group who was admitted to tracheostomy was 25.12 (14.25) compared to a mean SNIP value of 54 (25.46) in the group who did not undergo tracheostomy. Other anthropometric, clinical, functional, and nocturnal parameters evaluated did not correlate to the different outcome in our population of ALS patients.In conclusion, SNIP test could be a useful early indicator of tracheostomy in ALS patients.