Effects of single doses of propiomazine, a phenothiazine hypnotic, on sleep and oxygenation in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Serious respiratory depression may occur in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), receiving hypnotics during acute exacerbations. However, in a previous study on oxygenation during sleep in patients with stable hypoxemic non-hypercapnic COPD, we were unable to demonstrate a significant negative effect from single doses of nitrazepam and flunitrazepam. We have now investigated the effects of propiomazine, a phenothiazine hypnotic, in a double-blind randomized cross-over study of oxygen saturation and apneas during sleep and other sleep variables in 12 non-obese hypoxemic but clinically stable theophylline-treated COPD patients (PaO2 8.1 kPa, PaCO2 5.6 kPa, FEV1 31% of predicted value). None of the respiratory variables were adversely affected by a single oral dose of 25 mg propiomazine, whereas total sleeping time and the sleep efficiency index increased.