[Diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome]

Symptoms and signs in 12 patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndrome have been presented. The most common symptoms were snoring , increased motor activity during sleep and excessive daytime somnolence. The factors predisposing to OSA syndrome were obesity and anatomic abnormalities of the upper airway structure. In some cases the signs of OSA syndrome included hypertension, right heart failure, chronic alveolar hypoventilation and polycythemia. Polysomnography showed sleep fragmentation and the prevalence of light sleep stages. Obstructive sleep apneas repeated 73 +/- 23 times per hour of sleep. The mean apnea duration was 19 +/- 8 s. The mean arterial oxygen saturation during apnea was 72 +/- 14%.