Won - Figure 11
Central event rate ratios vs increase in Morphine Equivalent Dose
FIG. 11: In a retrospective study by Walter et al,[4] 60 patients using chronic opioids (the majority for nonmalignant pain) were age-, sex-, and BMI-matched with 60 consecutive control subjects who were not using opioids and who were subjected to same exclusion criteria. Comparison of their polysomnographic studies revealed several interesting findings. First, the overwhelming majority of central events occurred during non-REM sleep in both cohorts. Next, there was no difference in the rate of sleep apneic episodes during REM sleep between the chronic opioid users versus the non-opioid users. In addition, as this Figure shows, OSA was more likely to occur with increased opioid dose. CSA markedly increased in the chronic opioid group compared to controls, and this also increased in a dose-dependent fashion with the morphine-equivalent daily dose (MEDD).
References
Walker JM, Farney RJ, Rhondeau SM, et al. Chronic opioid use is a risk factor for the development of central sleep apnea and ataxic breathing. J Clin Sleep Med. 2007;3:455–461.
