Practice Focus » Sleep Medicine

OSA Patients Less Likely to Have Post-Op Bleeding

What is the relationship between pre-operative clinical diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and post-operative hemorrhage? Background: In general, post-operative complications following tonsillectomy are rare, with hemorrhage being one of […]

Making the Diagnosis: Sleep expert warns about OSA risk in obese children

The most significant danger to children now is obesity, and of the many related comorbidities that affect obese children, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) will impact a child’s life more than anything else, according to Carole Marcus, MD, an invited lecturer here last month at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.Dr. Marcus is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the sleep center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

A Prevalent Problem: Studies report sleep deprivation in colleagues, patients

Among the issues highlighted here last month at SLEEP 2011, the 25th Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, was the effect of inadequate sleep on both the health of the individual and on society at large. Two studies presented at the meeting, for example, looked at the effects of inadequate sleep on health care providers and the risks posed to their health and the health of their patients. Another study put into context just how underreported inadequate sleep and sleep disorders are and elaborated on the challenge this poses to otolaryngologists and others who are on the frontlines managing these disorders.

A New Direction for Sleep: New OSA guidelines fuel another evidence-based medicine debate

Recent publication of practice parameters for surgery in adults with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) has set off another round of debate on the need for otolaryngologists to get involved in generating their own guidelines. Although otolaryngologists have yet to agree on whether or not the time is right for guidelines on surgical treatment for sleep apnea, consensus can be claimed regarding the need perceived by the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) to get on the evidence-based bandwagon.