[The sleep apnea syndrome in patients with acromegaly]

The authors examined 19 nonselected patients with acromegaly (8 women and 11 men), incl. 16 where the disease was hormonally active, 3 had normal growth hormone values, 11 patients had a surgical operation of the pituitary. The examination was made by the MESAM 4 method (all-night recording of the heart rate, respiratory sounds, body position and arterial oxygen blood saturation). The sleep apnoea syndrome was diagnosed in 10 patients (52.6%). In patients where the sleep apnoea syndrome was not confirmed by MESAM 4, so-called intermittent snoring was found, an indirect sign of impaired ventilation during sleep.