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Article: Diagnosis of sleep apnea with A CPAP.(News You Can Use)(continuous positive airway pressure )(Brief article)
- Article from:
- Nevada RNformation
- Article date:
- May 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Nevada Nurses Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Sleep apnea causes frequent periods of apnea during sleep for more than 10 seconds that results in desaturation of oxygen, often several times an hour. The cycle is that the patient falls asleep, develops obstructive choking, and wakes up. Sleep apnea can cause hypertension, heart failure, arrhythmias, and daytime sleepiness.
Diagnosis is usually accomplished by sleep studies. In a recent study, Senn, et al. found that CPAP trials were very good at diagnosing sleep apnea. Patients were given the CPAP machine and if they continued to use it, and noted an improvement in their symptoms, they were diagnosed with sleep apnea. This approach is much simpler and ...