Sleep disorders: the role of polysomnography

With the generic expression “sleep disorders" refers to a group of medical conditions that are characterized by qualitative and/or quantitative alterations in sleep and that manifest themselves with difficulty in falling asleep or maintaining sleep or with non-restorative rest.

These disorders, when persistent, can cause significant decline in quality of life and, in some cases, they can be dangerous as they can cause daytime drowsiness, often responsible for road or work accidents.

Diagnosing a specific sleep disorder is not always easy; among the most commonly used tests, we recall in particular the polysomnography, an instrumental examination performed with a polysomnograph.

Given the spread of sleep disorders, let's try to learn more about this method.

What is polysomnography?

La polysomnography It is an advanced instrumental test that allows you to monitor various physiological parameters during sleep. In particular, brain activity, heart rate, breathing, blood oxygen saturation levels, blood pressure, the possible presence of snoring or other noises during sleep, etc. are monitored.

Polysomnography can be performed either in a healthcare facility, such as a hospital, both at home. It is not a invasive test nor painful and it has no contraindications since it does not involve any risk for the patient so much so that it can be performed on anyone, even children or elderly people.

Home Polysomnography Service: How Does It Work?

ANBOindustry polysomnography at home It provides two possible modes:

• the polysomnograph is delivered to the patient's home and will be applied by a technician from the company that provides the service. The following day the equipment will be removed and the tracing will be extracted and analyzed;
• A wrist polysomnograph is delivered and the patient must install a special app on his smartphone; at bedtime, the patient must put the device on his wrist and activate the test. The next day, the app will send the recorded data that will be analyzed by the technicians.

When is polysomnography requested?

The use of polysomnography can be requested by the GP, from one specialist of sleep medicine or from a neurologist if, on the basis of some clinical tests and/or on the basis of what the patient reports, they suspect the presence of a sleep disorder such as obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (popularly known as “sleep apnea”), narcolepsy, restless legs syndrome, pathological snoring, sleepwalking, etc.

Polysomnography is essentially a test for diagnostic purposes, but it can also be used after the diagnosis is certain to verify whether the therapy administered is producing the desired results. If not, the treatment will have to be reconsidered.

Cardio-respiratory and complete polysomnography

There are two types of polysomnography, cardio-respiratory is that AssessmentThe difference is that the complete one uses not only the sensors used in cardio-respiratory polysomnography, but also detectors with which brain activity is verified.

Cardio-respiratory polysomnography is usually requested if the patient is suspected of suffering from obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, while complete polysomnography is requested if the cause is thought to be different.