Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research
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ApneaLink (AL) is a single-channel type-4 device that measures airflow. A limited number of studies have assessed AL's usefulness in diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) using automated scoring alone. This study was conducted to assess the sensitivity and specificity of AL in a selected group of people with clinical suspicion of OSA, using both automatic and manual scoring and comparing the results with those obtained for polysomnography (PSG). ⋯ Combining auto and manual scoring of data (automatic scoring followed by manual scoring) recorded by single-channel ApneaLink provides good diagnostic agreement with conventional PSG recordings.
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Psychopathological symptoms occur more often in chronically ill patients than in healthy populations. The aim of this study was to analyze the associations between different types of treatment and stress levels. ⋯ Patients treated surgically in comparison with patients treated conservatively report higher stress levels connected with body deformation. A higher level of stress depends on the degree of trunk deformation on the frontal plane; stress is also higher in patients who begin conservative treatment at a later age.