| If your doctor suspects you're suffering from sleep | | | | repeated awakenings during sleep, and check the |
| apnea, then you may need to undergo some tests | | | | brain waves of the patient during these episodes. |
| to confirm the diagnosis. Here's a brief summary of | | | | Oximetry. This is done to monitor and record oxygen |
| the various tests used to help diagnose sleep apnea. | | | | levels throughout the night, and is simply a sleeve |
| As an adult, there are a lot of different tests | | | | that's inserted over one finger. The oxygen level |
| available, and the doctor will choose which test or | | | | drops during apnea episodes and rises when the |
| tests are most relevant to the type of sleep apnea | | | | patient wakes. If the results are abnormal, it's often |
| he believes you're suffering from. | | | | followed by a polysomnogram. |
| Maintain a sleep diary, including details of how loudly | | | | Sleep apnea is also diagnosed in children, but some of |
| the person snores, if they wake up during sleep, and | | | | the tests used are different to those used for adults. |
| whether they have breathing difficulties | | | | Video photography is used to record occurrences of |
| Use a sound-activated audio recorder during sleep | | | | apnea and nighttime awakening |
| X-ray or CT scan of the head and neck | | | | Lateral neck radiography supplies information about |
| Endoscopy of throat and nose to determine if there's | | | | the size of the adenoids |
| a blockage | | | | Polysomnography. This can be used in children, but it's |
| Check for any extra tissue growth in the mouth, | | | | not really design for this purposes. Children have |
| throat and nose, including tonsils, soft palate and | | | | higher respiratory and physiology rates, and so a |
| uvula | | | | machine designed for adults may provide false results. |
| Gather information about sleep patterns, the person's | | | | Apnea-hypopnoea index and minimum oxygen |
| daily activities and their medical history | | | | saturation levels can be used as indicators, in order to |
| Multiple sleep latency test. This test measures how | | | | determine the average number of apneas and |
| fast a person falls asleep, and they are given a | | | | hypopnoeas that occur during one hour of sleep. |
| number of opportunities to fall asleep through the | | | | Nasopharyngoscopy. This can determine how much |
| day | | | | obstruction is occurring in the child's nasal passages. |
| Polysomnogram. This monitors the breathing patterns | | | | Esophageal pressure monitors. This can determine if a |
| during the night, and is conducted at a sleep center in | | | | child has to make an increased respiratory effort |
| a hospital. It also records eye movement, brain | | | | because of upper airway resistance syndrome. A |
| activity, breathing, heart rate, muscle activity, the | | | | pressure probe is left in the esophagus, where it can |
| amount of airflow in and out of the lungs and what | | | | measure extreme or frequent negative pressures |
| percentage of oxygen is in the blood. Any breathing | | | | that disrupt sleep. |
| interruptions during sleep are noted and graded by | | | | Pulse oximetry. This is a screening tool for |
| severity. | | | | determining the presence of obstructive sleep apnea |
| Electroencephalogram (EEG). Used to monitor | | | | disorder, but it's not highly accurate. |