Assessing the prioritization of primary care referrals for polysomnograms.

Study Objective: The mortality attributed to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is comparable to that of breast cancer and colon cancer. We sought to determine if patients at high risk for OSA were less likely to be referred by their primary care physician for polysomnograms (PSG) than mammograms or endoscopies.

Design: Prospective cohort study; patients were recruited between January 2007 and April 2007.