Acetazolamide, a carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, has received some attention as potential
treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). It produces a metabolic acidosis by excreting
bicarbonate, thereby stimulating baseline ventilation. Evidence suggests that acetazolamide
primarily improves ventilatory control instability (expressed as loop gain), which is an
important contributor to the pathophysiology of OSA.
Few studies have assessed the efficacy of acetazolamide in patients with OSA. Since most of
them had a small sample size and used different therapeutic dosages, clinical applications
are currently limited. Therefore, this study aims to compare the effect of two acetazolamide
dosages on the severity and pathophysiology of OSA.