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Alteraciones Respiratorias Durante Sueño
Alteraciones Respiratorias Durante Sueño
Introducción. La estimulación del nervio vago (ENV) es una terapia utilizada en casos de epilepsia refractaria. Sus efectos Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital
NHS Foundation Trust. Londres,
secundarios son, con frecuencia, leves; sin embargo, se han descrito previamente alteraciones respiratorias durante el Reino Unido.
sueño.
Correspondencia:
Casos clínicos. Los tres casos incluidos son representativos de alteraciones respiratorias durante el sueño (apnea del sue- Dra. Laura Pérez Carbonell.
ño y estridor) que surgen a consecuencia de la actividad de la ENV. Sleep Disorders Centre. Guy’s and
St Thomas’ Hospital NHS Foundation
Conclusiones. Dada la elevada prevalencia del síndrome de apnea/hipopnea durante el sueño en pacientes con epilepsia Trust. 18-20 Newcomen St. SE11RT,
refractaria, debería estudiarse su posible preexistencia en candidatos a ENV y considerarse su potencial aparición como London (United Kingdom).
4. Malow BA, Edwards J, Marzec M, Sagher O, Fromes G. 9. Ardesch JJ, Sikken JR, Veltink PH, Van der Aa HE, Hageman G,
Effects of vagus nerve stimulation on respiration during sleep: Buschman HP. Vagus nerve stimulation for epilepsy activates
a pilot study. Neurology 2000; 55: 1450-4. the vocal folds maximally at therapeutic levels. Epilepsy Res
5. Marzec M, Edwards J, Sagher O, Fromes G, Malow BA. 2010; 89: 227-31.
Effects of vagus nerve stimulation on sleep-related breathing 10. Kelts G, O’Connor PD, Hussey RW, Maturo S. An electrical
in epilepsy patients. Epilepsia 2003; 44: 930-5. cause of stridor: pediatric vagal nerve stimulators. Int J Pediatr
6. Salvadé A, Ryvlin P, Rossetti AO. Impact of vagus nerve Otorhinolaryngol 2015; 79: 251-3.
stimulation on sleep-related breathing disorders in adults with 11. St Louis EK, Faber K. Reversible sleep-related stridor during
epilepsy. Epilepsy Behav 2018; 79: 126-9. vagus nerve stimulation. Epileptic Disord 2010; 12: 76-80.
7. Abdul-Hamid A, MacKeith S. Vagal nerve stimulator 12. Oh DM, Johnson J, Shah B, Bhat S, Nuoman R, Ming X.
masquerading as an inhaled foreign body in a child. BMJ Case Treatment of vagus nerve stimulator-induced sleep-disordered
Rep 2017; 2017. pii: bcr-2017-220157. breathing: a case series. Epilepsy Behav Rep 2019; 12: 100325.
8. Ford R, Haigh F, Hargreaves M. An unusual cause of stridor.
Anaesthesia 2011; 66: 1057.
Introduction. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is indicated in cases of refractory epilepsy. Its side effects are frequently
minor, however, breathing disturbances during sleep have been previously reported.
Case reports. Our three cases are representative of sleep-disordered breathing that occurred as a consequence of VNS
activity in patients with refractory epilepsy. Sleep apnoea was observed in two patients and stridor in one patient.
Conclusions. Given the high prevalence of sleep apnoea-hypopnoea syndrome in patients with refractory epilepsy,
implantation of VNS should be ideally preceded by an assessment of the breathing during sleep. Furthermore, sleep-
disordered breathing should be considered as a rare complication of VNS, and sleep apnoea should be investigated
alongside data regarding VNS firing.
Key words. Apnoea-hypopnoea index. Refractory epilepsy. Sleep apnoea. Sleep-disordered breathing. Stridor. Vagus nerve
stimulation.