THE VALUE OF SLEEP NASENDOSCOPY IN THE EVALUATION OF PATIENTS WITH SUSPECTED SLEEP-RELATED BREATHING DISORDERS

Fifty patients with sleep-related breathing disorders were tested with nocturnal polysomnography and with nasendoscopic diurnal polysomnogra phy after diazepam administration, and various indices of breathing di sorders were examined, and the results obtained in the two sleep studi es compared. There were no significant differences between the two sle ep studies in either the type of apnoea or the indices of breathing di sorder except for the longest duration of apnoea. There was a signific ant difference in the duration of REM sleep between the two sleep stud ies, but no significant difference in the duration of each stage of no n-REM sleep. We speculate that nasendoscopic diurnal polysomnography w ith diazepam can be used as a substitute for nocturnal polysomnography in the clinical study of non-REM sleep stage but it is not sufficient in evaluating REM sleep stage, in patients with sleep-related breathi ng disorders without pathological obesity or abnormal respiratory func tion.