Symptoms of Sleep Obstructive Apnoea
The most common symptoms are:
Snoring.
Excessive daytime sleepiness.
Tiredness or fatigue during the day.
Unrefreshing sleep.
Apnoea observed while asleep (episodes of nocturnal asphyxia).
Frequent arousals.
Increased frequency of nighttime urination (nocturia).
Morning headaches.
Bear in mind that excessive daytime sleepiness is hard to measure, both objectively and subjectively, as it is a very common symptom that affects around 20% of the general population. Its severity can be assessed subjectively using different questionnaires. The most used is the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. It is very important that the healthcare professional scores the sleepiness based on clinical data and determines the impact it has on the patient's day-to-day life.
Signs of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
Besides a compatible clinical picture, the signs that should give rise to the suspicion of obstructive sleep apnoea are:
- A short, broad neck.
- A disproportionately large tongue compared to the oral cavity (macroglossia).
- Tonsillar or tonsillar pillar hypertrophy.
- Abnormal configuration of the hard (high-arched palate) or soft palate (enlarged and flaccid soft palate, large and swollen uvula, reduced soft palate space, etc.).
- Skeletal alterations or maxillomandibular disproportion (retrognathia or maxillary retrusion) and dental malocclusion.
- Other factors should be ruled out which can increase the resistance to nasal flow in the nasal passages and contribute to the collapsibility of the upper airway in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea: e.g. nasal valve dysfunction, septal deviations, turbinate hypertrophy, nasosinusal polyposis and adenoid hypertrophy.
Substantiated information by:
Published: 16 January 2020
Updated: 16 January 2020
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