Obstructive sleep apnoea: a clinical review.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a common medical disorder associated with considerable morbidity and is being recognized and diagnosed with increasing frequency. Patients with OSA are frequently overweight and usually present with longstanding history of snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness along with accompanying obesity. The diagnosis is established with Polysomnography (PSG), although the decision as to who should be sent to a sleep laboratory must be individualised, especially for those patients whose main complaint is snoring. The most important factor in the pathogenesis of OSA is a narrow and floppy pharyngeal airway. Of the several treatment modalities which are available presently, the most successful is the application of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) during sleep.