The Epwortli sleepiness scale (ESS) is a short questionnaire designed to quantify subjective sleepiness.
No correlation was found between the ESS values and the selected paranieters of the PolyMESAM all-night sleep ventilation test (apnoea/hypopnoea index - number of apnoeas and hypopnoeas per hour, oxygen desaturation index - nurnber of saturation drops per hour, heart rate variation index number of heart rate changes per hour, Min Sa02 - mean oxygen saturation minima in percents) in a group of 41 men and 13 women (mean age 48.5+SD=9.2) with the sleep apnoea syndrome (SAS).
The mean ESS valne in patients with straightforward SAS was 11.1 (+6.1) while in the control group of 23 men and 6 women (iniddle age 47.3 +6.8 years) it was 6.5 (+2.2). There is a statistically significant diíference between the two (p<0.01). In the authors’ view, ESS is a useful instrument for testing subjective sleepiness in SAS patients.
Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is, in its consequences, a major
problem for the patient and for the society. EDS is mainly caused by night-time sleep disorders, in particular: the sleep apnoea syndrome (SAS) and periodic limb movements in sleep (PLMS). Our study was designed for finding out a) if there is a correlation between the gravity of the two conditions and the degree of EDS in patients with SAS and those with SAS and PLMS combined, and b) if EDS in the SAS+PLMS group is greater than in patients with the SAS alone. 35 patients with SAS and 10 with SAS+PLMS were examined using nocturnal polysomnography (PSG) and the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT).
As for SAS, no correlation was found between EDS and the gravity of the condition. On the other hand, PLMS was found correlated to the mean sleep latency value. A correlation between the gravity of the disease and the reduced TST, SE and the sleep stages under study was corroborated for both groups. In addition, both conditions were found to interfere with the sleep architecture more than the SAS alone. This noctural sleep disturbance, though, would stop short of raising the mean sleep latency tested in the MLST. Correlations were found in SAS between the age and 2NREM latency and between the latter and average sleep latency. In the MSLT, the groups showed no difference as to the mean sleep latencies.