A great place to start Disorder information source Rated and Reviewed Sleep Links Entrance to all monitored Sleep Forums Search all of Sleepnet.com


Sleep Apnea
Forum Posting


Archived Apnea Forum111 viewing only. To post a new topic go to the Apnea Forum Homepage.

Re: Insomnia and Sleep Apnea in Teens

Posted by SGS on March 19, 2003 at 15:18:54:

In Reply to: Re: Insomnia and Sleep Apnea in Teens posted by GrantAZ on March 18, 2003 at 23:49:10:

With an AHI of 4.6 the young lady in question does not have OSA. If the test were to be repeated it might be possible that she would sneak above AHI=5 or even AHI=10 due to night to night variability. Even if this were the case it does not mean however that she should be put on CPAP. There is not a great deal of convincing evidence that CPAP is an effective treatment for people with AHI 5-30. People who have OSA of this severity generally cannot tolerate the device- the cure is worse than the immediate effects of the disease, as it were.

The second point is that you are not necessarily going to be able to set a CPAP pressure effectively. You're lacking both the equipment and the training. There has been a paper published very recently showing that people with OSA can be left to set their own pressures when lent an AutoCPAP device- which shows promise in this area. But these patients are older, extremely obese and have very severe OSA [Fitzpatrick et al. 2003 Can patients with obstructive sleep apnea titrate their own continuous positive airway pressure. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine vol 167 pp 716-722]. They do not match the characteristics of the case we are discussing.

The AHI=5 clinical cutoff is coming under some scrutiny at the moment because of the findings of the sleep heart health study that even AHI 1-5 have increased risks associated. But the problem of treating somebody with such a low AHI remains extremely debatable.

I still think a closer discussion of the insomnia problem with the physician may reward your daughter with a better quality of life.

Follow Ups:


Archived Apnea Forum111 viewing only. To post a new topic go to the Apnea Forum Homepage

  • IMPORTANT : Information not intended as medical advice. If you suspect that you have a sleep disorder you should seek care from a qualified professional. Read Terms of Use.
  • The Sleep Forums are not to be used for commercial purposes.
  • Commercial products and services are not endorsed by Sleepnet.com.
  • Sleep Deprivation due to Sleep Apnea and insufficient sleep are common and can present as insomnia, narcolepsy, or idiopathic hypersomnia. In infants and children sleep problems commonly present themselves as ADD or ADHD.


Copyright ©1995-2005 Sleepnet.com., All rights reserved