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Obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) and central sleep apnea (CSA) are both classified as sleep-related breathing disorders. OSAHS and CSA share some risk factors and physiological bases but also have unique features. Each disorder is associated with impaired ventilation during sleep and disruption of sleep, and each diagnosis requires careful elicitation of the patient’s history, physical examination, and physiological testing. OSAHS, the more common disorder, causes daytime sleepiness, impairs daily function, and is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease in adults and to behavioral problems in children. CSA is less common and may occur in combination with obstructive sleep apnea, as a primary condition, or secondary to a medical condition (such as heart failure) or medication. Patients with CSA often report frequent awakenings and daytime fatigue and are at increased risk for heart failure and atrial fibrillation.
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OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA/HYPOPNEA SYNDROME
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OSAHS is defined on the basis of nocturnal and daytime symptoms as well as sleep study findings. Diagnosis requires the patient to have (1) either symptoms of nocturnal breathing disturbances (snoring, snorting, gasping, or breathing pauses during sleep) or daytime sleepiness or fatigue that occurs despite sufficient opportunities to sleep and is unexplained by other medical problems; and (2) five or more episodes of obstructive apnea or hypopnea per hour of sleep (the apnea-hypopnea index [AHI], calculated as the number of episodes divided by the number of hours of sleep) documented during a sleep study. OSAHS also may be diagnosed in the absence of symptoms if the AHI is >15 episodes/h. Each episode of apnea or hypopnea represents a reduction in breathing for at least 10 s and commonly results in a ≥3% drop in oxygen saturation and/or a brain cortical arousal. OSAHS severity is based on the frequency of breathing disturbances (AHI), the amount of oxyhemoglobin desaturation with respiratory events, the duration of apneas and hypopneas, the degree of sleep fragmentation, and the level of daytime sleepiness or functional impairment.
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During inspiration, intraluminal pharyngeal pressure becomes increasingly negative, creating a “suctioning” force. Because the pharyngeal airway has no bone or cartilage, airway patency is dependent on the stabilizing influence of the pharyngeal dilator muscles. Although these muscles are continuously activated during wakefulness, neuromuscular output declines with sleep onset. In patients with a collapsible airway, the reduction in neuromuscular output results in transient episodes of pharyngeal collapse (manifesting as an “apnea”) or near collapse (manifesting as a “hypopnea”). The episodes of collapse are terminated when ventilatory reflexes are activated and cause arousal, thus stimulating an increase in neuromuscular activity and opening of the airway. The airway may collapse at different sites, such as the soft palate (most common), tongue base, lateral pharyngeal walls, and/or epiglottis (Fig. 291-1). OSAHS may be most severe during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, when neuromuscular output to the skeletal muscles is ...