title: Incidence of serious adverse events during nocturnal polysomnography.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the study was to verify whether minimal concern is warranted in regard to serious adverse effects in the sleep laboratory.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective multicenter study
  
  
  METHODS
  Three scoring teams for 17 sleep laboratories.
  
  
  METHODS
  Reports of adverse events occurring during polysomnography or identified upon scoring a study were collected over an 18-month time period. Incidence of mortality and adverse events were evaluated using a binomial distribution based on the Bernoulli process.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 16,084 studies, the mortality rate during or 2 weeks after an adverse event, as noted, was 0.006%, and the overall rate of adverse events was 0.35%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adverse event rates are low; however, procedures for handling medical emergencies or adverse events during or after polysomnography are prudent, and those studies performed for research should include preparedness for the possibility of adverse events.
authors.affiliation: Center for Sleep Disorders Research, Louis Stokes DVA Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH, USA. mehrar@ameritech.net
authors.forename: Reena
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mehra
authors.forename: Kingman P
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Strohl
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016010:Binomial Distribution; D002423:Cause of Death; D045422:Continuous Positive Airway Pressure; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004630:Emergencies / Q000453:epidemiology*; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005260:Female; D006323:Heart Arrest / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008432:Mathematical Computing; D008875:Middle Aged; D010343:Patient Admission; D017286:Polysomnography / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000401:mortality; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D012307:Risk Factors; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000401:mortality; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000401:mortality; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000401:mortality; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology