Respiratory Disorder

Both hypoxemia and hypercapnia can develop during sleep in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Respiratory impairment is more severe during REM sleep compared with NREM sleep. Hypoxemia, the extent of which is related to the percentage of REM sleep in relation to total sleep time and daytime levels of PaCO2, PaO2, and oxygen saturation [...]

Patients with nocturnal asthma often present with repetitive arousals and awakenings during the night accompanied by complaints of breathlessness, coughing, and wheezing secondary to bronchocontriction.25 A variety of factors may contribute to the worsening bronchoreactivity that occurs during sleep, including a relative increase in parasympathetic tone and decrease in nonadrenergic, noncholinergic discharge; comorbid gastroesophageal reflux [...]