Sleep-related groaning: prevalence and characteristics in a cohort of patients with suspected obstructive sleep apnea.

Conclusion: Nocturnal groaning has the same prevalence in patients referred for diagnosis of sleep-disordered breathing as among other populations referred for sleep studies. The respiratory tracings in these patients have a distinct appearance that is possible to recognize with a polygraphic recording and thereby prevent the pattern from being misdiagnosed as central apneas.

Objectives: The aim of this study was first to estimate the prevalence of groaning in patients referred for diagnosis of sleep-related breathing disorders.

[Sleep-related breathing disorders].

Background: Sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBD) is a term that includes several different diagnoses. This paper describes aetiology, diagnostics, treatment options and consequences of untreated disease, in children and adults.

Material And Method: The paper is based on own clinical experience and literature identified through a non-systematic search of PubMed and various books.

[A ten-year-old girl with dizziness].

Childhood dizziness may take many forms; most often it presents as acute short-lived spinning attacks associated with headaches and nausea and less frequently as long-lasting symptoms with unsteadiness. Migrainous vertigo and middle ear infections are considered to be the most common causes of childhood dizziness, while head injury and pathology of the central nervous system are less common causes. We present a case history of a 10-year-old girl with acute positional vertigo attacks.

Evaluation of a portable recording device (Reggie) with actimeter and nasopharyngeal/esophagus catheter incorporated.

Background: Portable recording devices without electroencephalogram recordings are frequently used for diagnosis of sleep-disordered breathing. However, an exact measure of sleep is important, since the diagnosis is based on the average number of events per hour of sleep, the apnea/hypopnea index (AHI). Actimetry is a simplified method for distinguishing sleep and wakefulness by measurements of activity.

Patient discomfort in polysomnography with esophageal pressure measurements.

The reference method for measuring respiratory effort and for differentiating between obstructive and central apneas in the diagnosis of sleep-related breathing disorders is overnight monitoring of esophageal pressure. Despite this being the reference method, it is not widely used because it is considered invasive and uncomfortable for the patients. The aim of this study was to assess patient discomfort and insertion difficulty when using an esophageal catheter during polysomnography.