[Measuring hypoxic and hypercapnic respiratory response in patients with obstructive sleep apnea]

The gas composition of breathing air is a very important stimulus for the control of breathing. The different partial pressures of O2 and CO2 independently trigger individually different reactions (respiratory response), which can be measured as a change of respiratory minute volume. Investigations of the respiratory control in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) have up to now been restricted to an analysis of the breathing patterns at night. Therefore we have developed a computer-controlled device which allows a flexible composition of the air to be inhaled using a regulated feet-back circle. With this system it is possible to produce a hypercapnia test as well as a hyperoxia and an isocapnic hypoxia test. The simultaneous recording of all relevant respiratory parameters (AF, AMV, ETCO2, SpO2, FiO2) and the parallel recording of continuous blood pressure allow a quantitative description of the respiratory regulation of patients with OSA with exactly defined tests.