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From the Neurology Service (Drs. Iranzo, Santamaria, Tolosa, Valldeoriola, Martí, and Muñoz), Hospital Clínic and Instisut dInvestigació Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS); and Otorhinolaryngology Service (Dr. Vilaseca), Hospital Clinic Universitari de Barcelona, Spain.
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Alex Iranzo, Neurology Service, Hospital Clinic de Barcelona, C/Villarroel 170, Barcelona 08036, Spain; e-mail: airanzo{at}clinic.ub.es
The authors found that continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) eliminated video-polysomnographic documented stridor in 13 multiple system atrophy (MSA) subjects with vocal cord abnormalities. Long-term follow-up showed high CPAP tolerance, no recurrence of stridor, no major side effects, subjective improvement in sleep quality, and that median survival time was similar to a group of 26 MSA patients without stridor. This study shows that in MSA, CPAP is an effective noninvasive long-term therapy for nocturnal stridor.
Received March 11, 2004. Accepted in final form May 8, 2004.
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