Obstructive Sleep Apnea Case Study: Shirin Shafazand, MD, MS Neomi Shah, MD August 2014

Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Case Study
Shirin Shafazand, MD, MS
Neomi Shah, MD
for the Sleep Education for Pulmonary Fellows and
Practitioners, SRN ATS Committee
August 2014
Part 1: Case Presentation
Mr. Simon Applegate (SA) is a 55 year old male who comes to your office
with complaints of shortness of breath. He has gained 10 lbs over the past 6 months
and feels that his breathing is more difficult when walking up a flight of stairs. There
has been no cough or sputum production and he has no other respiratory complaints.
He is here at the insistence of his wife and feels that he will probably be back to
normal if he loses the extra weight. He has a history of childhood asthma but has not
had any exacerbations as an adult. His past medical history is also relevant for
hypertension, recently diagnosed non-insulin-dependent diabetes, and
hyperlipidemia. His is an ex-smoker and quit 10 years ago with a 10 pack-year history
of smoking. He works as a bank executive and is married with 2 children. He denies
any occupational exposures.
His wife, who accompanies him on this visit, mentions that he has been
more tired lately when he comes home from work and has trouble concentrating on
tasks. She often finds that he has dozed off in front of the TV while waiting for dinner.
He has restless sleep during the night, and she is getting tired of having her own sleep
disrupted with his loud snores. He does little else but sleep during the weekend and
she worries that might be a sign of depression.
Questions
• What are important components of a good
sleep history?
• What is the differential diagnosis of daytime

hypersomnolence?
• What are available tools to measure daytime

hypersomnolence?
Case Presentation
Upon further questioning, SA admits that he has been more sleepy
as of late. He has, on occasion, fallen asleep during meetings, and much to his
embarrassment, colleagues nudge him awake when his snoring starts. He
goes to bed around 11 pm, falls asleep quickly, but may wake up several times
throughout the night to go to the bathroom. He wakes up at 7 am to get
ready for work and has to drag himself out of bed. His Epworth sleepiness
score (ESS) is 12 out of 24. He doesn’t take any scheduled naps during the
week but tries to catch up during the weekends by sleeping in and taking
afternoon naps. He has not been in any car accidents due to sleepiness. He
drinks 2 cups of coffee in the morning and several caffeinated sodas
throughout the day.
His physical exam is remarkable for blood pressure of 150/70, oxygen

saturation of 95% on room air, body mass index of 35 kg/m2, Mallampati
score III, high arched palate, and neck size 17.5 inches (44.5 cm). Respiratory,
cardiac, and abdominal examination are otherwise unremarkable.
Questions
• What are important components of a good sleep
physical examination?
• What are risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea

(OSA), in general, and this patient in particular?
• What are symptoms of OSA?
• What questionnaires can be used to better

quantify risk for OSA(pre-test probability)?
Part II: Diagnostic Testing
You decide that SA is at high risk for OSA and request in-lab,
attended polysomnography. The sleep study report is as follows:
SLEEP ARCHITECTURE: (frontal, central and occipital EEG, right and left EOG and digastric EMG) The
exam started at 22:17 and ended at 05:39. Sleep latency was 10 minutes, and REM Latency was 85
minutes. Total sleep time was 404.3 minutes with a sleep efficiency of 91.5 %. The sleep stage
distribution showed stage N1 ( 16.7%), stage N2 ( 67.3%), stage N3 ( 0 %), and REM sleep (16 %). The
total amount of wake after sleep onset (WASO) was 35.5 minutes and there were 236 arousals during
the exam.
RESPIRATION: There were 295 respiratory events consisting of 35 obstructive apnea(s), 22 mixed
apnea(s), 0 central apnea(s), 238 hypopneas and 0 respiratory effort-related arousals (RERAs). The AHI
during REM sleep was 23.1. The average event duration was 27.3 seconds, and the maximum duration
was 55.2 seconds. The supine and non-supine RDI were 75.3 and 41.2 respectively.
OXYHEMOGLOBIN SATURATION: (pulse oximetry with beat by beat sampling) Mean oxyhemoglobin
saturation was 94.7%. Oxyhemoglobin saturation was below 88% for 2 minutes. The SaO2 ranged from
86% to 99%. The patient was studied on room air.
Tracings
Tracings
Questions
• What tests are available to diagnose OSA?
• What are practice guideline recommendations for the use of

portable sleep studies?
• How do you calculate AHI and RDI? What is the AHI and RDI for this
patient?
• What is the difference between obstructive and mixed sleep apnea

and what are clinical implications of such a distinction?
• How do you classify severity of sleep apnea? What is the sleep

apnea severity in this case?
Part III: Treatment
Based on polysomnography results you make
treatment recommendations.
SA asks whether there is a relationship between

sleep apnea and his recent diagnoses of high
blood pressure and diabetes. He also wants to
know what impact if any will treatment have on
his health.
Questions
• What treatment options are available for OSA
and what would you recommend for this patient?
• Is OSA associated with long term health

outcomes? What is the strength of the evidence?
• What are proposed mechanisms for the

association between OSA and cardiovascular
outcomes (hypertension, MI)?
Part III: Treatment
After some discussion, SA accepts your
recommendations and opts for CPAP therapy.
You arrange for in-lab CPAP titration and after

reviewing the results, you prescribe CPAP at 12
cmH20 and a medium-size full-face mask.
Questions
• What are potential advantages and disadvantages
to using auto-PAP devices vs. in-lab PAP titration?
• What is PCrit?
• What is the impact of CPAP therapy on sleep

apnea health outcomes?
• What are predictors of short term and long term

CPAP compliance?
Conclusion
SA returns after 3 months of cpap use and reports
improvement in daytime hypersomnolence. He has
been paying attention to his diet and has been
exercising more with a 10 lb. weight loss. He
wonders whether he still needs CPAP.
He reports nightly use of at least 5 hours with initial

difficulty tolerating the mask but gradual increase in
tolerance. He uses a humidifier and that has helped
somewhat.
Questions
• What are usual follow-up recommendations
for newly diagnosed sleep apnea?
• What is the impact of weight loss on OSA?
• How is CPAP compliance measured and what

is considered good compliance?

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Obstructive Sleep Apnea

• What is the differential diagnosis of daytime

• What are available tools to measure daytime

His physical exam is remarkable for blood pressure of 150/70, oxygen

• What are risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea

• What are symptoms of OSA?

• What questionnaires can be used to better

• What are practice guideline recommendations for the use of

• What is the difference between obstructive and mixed sleep apnea

• How do you classify severity of sleep apnea? What is the sleep

SA asks whether there is a relationship between

• Is OSA associated with long term health

• What are proposed mechanisms for the

You arrange for in-lab CPAP titration and after

• What is the impact of CPAP therapy on sleep

• What are predictors of short term and long term

He reports nightly use of at least 5 hours with initial

• What is the impact of weight loss on OSA?

• How is CPAP compliance measured and what

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