Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine
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Observational Study
Relationship between Clinical and Polysomnography Measures Corrected for CPAP Use.
The changes in patient-reported measures of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) burden are largely discordant with the change in apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and other polysomnography measures before and after treatment. For patients treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), some investigators have theorized that this discordance is due in part to the variability in CPAP use. We aim to test the hypothesis that patient-reported outcomes of CPAP treatment have stronger correlations with AHI when it is corrected for mean nightly CPAP use. ⋯ Correction for CPAP use yielded overall small but significant improvements in the correlations between patient-reported measures of sleep apnea burden and polysomnography measures after 6 months of treatment.
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Drowsy driving is a serious public health concern which is often difficult for individual drivers to identify. While it is important for drivers to understand the causes of drowsy driving, there is still insufficient scientific knowledge and public education to prevent drowsy driving. As a result, the AASM is calling upon institutions and policy makers to increase public awareness and improve education on the issue, so our society can better recognize and prevent drowsy driving. The AASM has adopted a position statement to educate both healthcare providers and the general public about drowsy driving risks and countermeasures.
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Observational Study
Sleep Apnea in Patients with and without a Right-to-Left Shunt.
To assess the presence of right-to-left shunting (RLS) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), and compare clinical characteristics and parameters of the sleep studies of patients with and without RLS. ⋯ RLS, most commonly due to a PFO, occurs 2.2 times more frequently in OSA patients compared to a control population that was matched for age and gender. The severity of sleep apnea is not greater in OSA patients who have a PFO. However, patients with OSA and a PFO are more likely to become symptomatic at a younger age with an equivalent decrease in nocturnal SpO2, and have greater arterial desaturation in proportion to the frequency of respiratory disturbances.