This site is intended for healthcare professionals

Sign in
Go to /sign-in page

You can view 5 more pages before signing in

Mechanism of nocturnal hypoxia

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Patients with COAD are already hypoxic. Thus, because of the steepness of the oxyhaemoglobin desaturation curve, any fall in PaO2 causes a large fall in oxygen saturation. A desaturation of up to 50% may occur.

There is alveolar hypoventilation due to:

  • voluntary accessory muscles are inhibited during REM sleep causing a reduction of tone of the accessory muscles of respiration
  • the breathing pattern during REM sleep is shallow which reduces alveolar ventilation in COAD
  • the reduction in muscle tone causes an increase in upper airway resistance

Create an account to add page annotations

Create a free account

Add information to this page that would be handy to have on hand during a consultation, such as a web address or phone number. This information will always be displayed when you visit this page

The content herein is provided for informational purposes and does not replace the need to apply professional clinical judgement when diagnosing or treating any medical condition. A licensed medical practitioner should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions.

Connect

Copyright 2024 Oxbridge Solutions Limited, a subsidiary of OmniaMed Communications Limited. All rights reserved. Any distribution or duplication of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited. Oxbridge Solutions receives funding from advertising but maintains editorial independence.