NWO SEM Sleep Society

LITERATURE WATCH

C. Polysomnography and Sleep Diagnostics; Actigraphy

• Comparison of Nasal Pressure Transducer and Thermistor
  for Detection of Respiratory Events During Polysomnography
  in Children
  

Sleep 2005; 28(9): 1117-1121



Comparison of Nasal Pressure Transducer and Thermistor for Detection of Respiratory
Events During Polysomnography in Children
Sleep 2005; 28(9): 1117-1121

•        Polysomnographic recordings of 40 children were analyzed
•         2 different methods of measuring airflow: thermistor alone
and thermistor with nasal-cannula pressure transducer
(transducer) used simultaneously.
•        The transducer detected all the respiratory events
detected by the thermistor, but the thermistor detected only 84%
of the transducer- defined events.
•        There was good agreement between the thermistor and
the transducer for making the diagnosis of sleep apnea using a
cutoff of a respiratory disturbance index greater than 5 (?=0.69).
The quality of the tracings with the transducer was comparable to
that of the thermistor, but the transducer dislodged more
frequently.
•        The use of a nasal transducer in conjunction with a
thermistor was more sensitive than the thermistor alone in
detecting sleep-disordered breathing in children during
unattended polysomnography.