title: Severity of obstructive sleep apnea.
abstract: A four-level severity scale for obstructive sleep apnea is offered using four criteria: maximum oxygen desaturation, apnea/hyponea index, symptoms of excessive day-time sleepiness, and symptoms of related cardiac disease. Oxygen desaturation and the apnea/hyponea index for 175 patients, all having had uvulopalatopharyngoplasty surgery, showed 19% mild, 33% moderate, 17% moderately severe, and 31% severe obstructive sleep apnea. There was a very poor correlation between oxygen desaturations and number of obstructive events, which demands that both be used in any estimation of disease severity.
authors.affiliation: Division of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Stanford University Medical School, CA.
authors.forename: F B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Simmons
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hochman
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000145:classification* / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen