Home Screening For Obstructive Sleep Apnoea - Interpreting Results From The ApneaLink™

Main Category: Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia
Article Date: 24 May 2007 - 12:00 PDT

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A screening device for sleep disordered breathing, called the ApneaLink™, is enabling patients to self-assess whether they may be at risk of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). GPs are likely to see an increase in the number of patients concerned about OSA, which remains undiagnosed among 95% of sufferers even though it can be easily treated with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP).

The ApneaLink™ can be used at home and by anyone - no specialist knowledge is required - and it provides accurate, scientifically validated results. Patients rent the device online, use it for one night, and then send it back to the ResMed Centre for Healthy Sleep for evaluation. They then receive their results in the post which, should they need to be fully evaluated for OSA, can be taken to their GP.

Dr Andrew Cummin, director of the West London Sleep Centre at Charing Cross Hospital said: 'It's important to diagnose symptomatic OSA because treatment with CPAP can dramatically improve a patient's quality of life.'

OSA is a condition where breathing stops during sleep - sometimes hundreds of times a night - for periods that range from ten seconds to two minutes. Those affected by OSA suffer significantly fragmented sleep, impairing quality of life due to often severe daytime sleepiness. Longer-term, OSA is also associated with more serious conditions such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension and type 2 diabetes.

Dr Andrew Clark, from the University of Hull, evaluated the ApneaLink™ alongside the Embletta, a diagnostic tool used in professional sleep clinics: 'The ApneaLink™ is a simple device that provides accurate screening for sleep disordered breathing. It is comparable to the Embletta in sensitivity and given that it can be used by anyone, anywhere, it makes for a valuable tool in the diagnosis if these disorders.'

The ApneaLink™ is available from sleep specialists ResMed via www.osauk.org. Alternatively, information is also available by calling the ResMed Centre for Healthy Sleep on 0800 917 7091. These independent centres exist to promote awareness of OSA, its impact on an individual's quality of life and other health-related effects. They offer an alternative, self-pay option to NHS services for the appropriate diagnosis and treatment of this common sleep disorder. There are Centres for Healthy Sleep in London, Abingdon and the Midlands, each staffed by OSA experts and assisting patients that contact them directly or following referral from a GP.

http://www.osauk.org

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