Mechanisms of orthopnoea in patients with advanced COPD

Many patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) report an unpleasant respiratory sensation at rest, which is further amplified by adoption of a supine position (orthopnoea). The mechanisms of this acute symptomatic deterioration are poorly understood. Sixteen patients with advanced COPD and a history of orthopnoea and 16 age- and sex-matched healthy controls underwent pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and detailed sensory mechanical measurements including inspiratory neural drive (IND) assessed by diaphragm electromyography (EMG(di)), oesophageal pressure (P-es) and gastric pressure (P-ga), in both sitting and supine positions. Patients had severe airflow obstruction (forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1): 40 +/- 18%pred) and lung hyperinflation. Regardless of the position, patients had lower inspiratory capacity (IC) and higher IND for a given tidal volume (V-T) (i.e. greater neuromechanical dissociation (NMD)), higher intensity of breathing discomfort, higher minute ventilation (V'(E)) and higher breathing frequency (f(B)) compared with controls (all p<0.05). For controls in a supine position, IC increased by 0.48 I. versus sitting erect, with a small drop in V'(E), mainly due to reduced f(B) (all p<0.05). By contrast, IC remained unaltered in patients with COPD, but dynamic lung compliance (C-Ldyn) decreased (p<0.05) in the supine position. Breathing discomfort, inspiratory work of breathing (WOB), inspiratory effort, IND, NMD and neuroventilatory uncoupling all increased in COPD patients in the supine position (p<0.05), but not in the healthy controls. Orthopnoea was associated with acute changes in IND (r=0.65, p=0.01), neuroventilatory uncoupling (r=0.76, p=0.001) and NMD (r=0.73, p=0.002). In COPD, onset of orthopnoea coincided with an abrupt increase in elastic loading of the inspiratory muscles in recumbency, in association with increased IND and greater NMD of the respiratory system.