[Theophylline in therapy of obstructive sleep apnea?]

We examined the effect of 375 mg theophylline at night in 95 patients (14 women, 81 men) with obstructive sleep apnoea. The apnoea-hypopnoea index decreased significantly from 20.9 +/- 17.2 to 13.5 +/- 15.8/hour, the nadir of oxygen saturation increased from 80.6 +/- 8.5 to 82.4 +/- 8%. A survey of the longterm effects of theophylline in 16 initially responding patients revealed after 31-922 (190 +/- 217) days therapy no statistically significant change of the apnoea-hypopnoea index; however, the nadir of oxygen saturation was lower compared to the beginning of the therapy (83.8 +/- > 79.3 +/- 7.6%). We believe that theophylline is useful in single cases of patients with obstructive sleep apnoea, but is necessary to reconfirm the positive effect.