Current developments in the diagnosis of sleep-related breathing disorders

Various diagnostic procedures are available to diagnose sleep-related breat hing disorders. The present review examines the amount of diagnostics neces sary for daily routine. Concerning taking patients' history, the medical examination and nasal para meters, no new recommendations derive from this review. On the other hand,t he detection of the site of pharyngeal obstruction seems to have become les s important than it was a couple of years ago. Today, the upper airway is c onsidered to be a complex, functional unit. The classification of the obstr uction site into retropalatal and retrolingual seems to be oversimplified. A fully attended, complete polysomnography in the sleep laboratory no longe r seems to be necessary in every case of suspected sleep-related breathing disorders. Under certain conditions,ambulatory recording units provide cost -effective alternatives.