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Article: Decreasing surgical risks for patients with obstructive sleep apnea.
- Article from:
- AORN Journal
- Article date:
- July 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Association of Operating Room Nurses, Inc. 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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Obstructive sleep apnea is a serious, potentially life-threatening condition that, according to current research, is much more prevalent than originally thought. The syndrome was first described in 1965 and for many years was believed to be relatively rare. A press release from the American Thoracic Society states that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a disease condition that is as common as asthma and contributes as much as $2 billion each year to health care costs.(1) The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md, estimates that as many as 18 million Americans (ie, 4% of middle-aged men, 2% of middle-aged ...