Nocturnal hypoxia and functional outcome in stroke patients1

Abstract

Sleep disorders and nocturnal hypoxia are common in patients with cerebrovascular disease. Sleep-disordered breathing is associated with a poor functional outcome in stroke patients. We investigated the relationship between nocturnal hypoxia and functional outcome in the rehabilitation phase of stroke patients. Thirty patients with stroke and 20 controls were included. Functional status was evaluated with the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). Pulse oximetry was performed overnight from 21.00 h to 07.00 h. Baseline awake oxygen saturation, nocturnal oxygen saturation, the lowest nocturnal oxygen saturation, and the >4% Oxygen Desaturation Index (ODI) were calculated. The mean oxygen saturation measurements were not significantly different among the groups (p > 0.05). There was no significant relationship between the FIM scores and the oxygen saturation measurements of the stroke patients (p > 0.05). The baseline oxygen saturation in patients with disease duration of 3 months or less was 94.67, and it was 96.56 (p = 0.016) in those with disease duration of more than 3 months. This study showed that nocturnal oxygen saturation was not associated with functional outcome in therehabilitation phase of stroke patients.