Catching up on sleep apnoea

Sleep apnoea is extremely common in our community, yet public knowledge is just catching up. Over the last decade, there have been excellent advances in the treatment of sleep apnoea and a growing body of persuasive evidence outlining the harmful effects of sleep apnoea on performance and cardiovascular morbidity. This Fast facts series publication about obstructive sleep apnoea is a concise, up-to-date review of sleep apnoea, written by two extremely knowledgeable authors (of whom one, Matthew Naughton, is an Australian).

The handbook is relatively brief but to the point; its strength lies in its clarity. Prevalence, predisposing factors, physiological and cardiovascular effects, and treatment strategies are all addressed. The chapter on medical complications highlights the importance of injury to the cardiovascular system by sleep apnoea. Emerging concepts of sleep apnoea being a form of an inflammatory disease are presented.

Breakout boxes summarise important facts in point form. Appropriate diagrams highlight important findings, and examples of sleep studies and treatment devices are included. And, for those seeking further reading, useful references are provided.

I believe this is the most up-to-date, concise publication of its type on this topic, providing a very good grounding for medical practitioners in the current approach to sleep apnoea. And, as the language of sleep apnoea is not marred by a lot of jargon, paramedical staff and interested lay people will also be able to digest most of its contents.

This handbook would be a good reference publication for doctors who have an interest in the field as well as those new to the area of sleep medicine. It could quite happily sit on a desk in a physician’s office or the resident doctors’ workbench in a hospital ward.

Peter SolinRespiratory and Sleep Disorders PhysicianMonash Medical Centre, Clayton, VIC