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An article published in Pulmonology Advisor addressed recent studies that suggest untreated OSA may contribute to worse outcomes for patients with Covid-19. The studies found that between 21 and 28% of patients admitted to the ICU with Covid-19 suffered from OSA.   The novel coronavirus appears to exacerbate hypoxemia from OSA, and, as a result, patients […]

The last few months of shutdowns and virtual work have been hard for most Americans, but there has to be a silver lining, right? Shouldn’t people at least be getting more sleep since they’re out of the office and classrooms and have dramatically shortened their commutes? Sadly, new studies suggest that rather than improving Americans’ […]

For many pediatricians, a tonsillectomy and adenectomy are the first line of treatment for a child with obstructive sleep apnea. But are they always necessary?  A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics compared a group of Australian children who received a T&A for a diagnosis of mild OSA with a group of children who […]

When you sleep, what do you dream about? Could the content and quality of your dreams be a symptom of sleep apnea? In recent years, researchers have been exploring the connection between dreams and the Apnea-Hypoxia Index, and they’ve both debunked common sleep apnea myths and found correlations between sleep apnea and dreaming. Do people […]

Most people are aware that there’s a problem when teens get too little sleep. They do worse at school, their mood suffers, and they can’t enjoy life. Until recently, lack of sleep was a primary concern for the parents of adolescents in the US. Between long commutes, early start times, after-school activities, homework, and screen […]

Obese patients with sleep apnea are often told their weight gain caused the disorder. However, this isn’t always helpful. Patients may feel ashamed, which can lead them to reject treatment because they blame themselves for their condition. This is the last thing sleep apnea patients need.  Plus, research is beginning to suggest that the link […]

When your patients receive sleep apnea diagnoses, their primary care physicians will often urge them to exercise more. Since obesity correlates with sleep apnea, and exercise is good for obese patients, it should also be good for sleep apnea, right? Many patients ignore this advice. They’re used to being scolded by doctors about their weight, […]

While all patients should receive regular screenings for obstructive sleep apnea, these screenings are especially important for patients with sickle cell disease. Researchers have found that when children with sickle cell disease also have untreated obstructive sleep apnea, they experience 47% more disease complications than children with sickle cell disease who do not have sleep […]

Researchers in Israel have developed a new screening tool that combines pulse oximetry with an AI app to provide medical professionals with a low-cost method for identifying patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The researchers used pulse oximetry, neck circumference, and demographic data from patients to train an AI to identify OSA. The resulting Oxydosa […]

If you’re like most families in North America, the last few months have been chaotic. Kids have gone from rigid bedtimes and wakeups to a more free-form schedule. Without out-of-the-house activities, days seem to bleed into one another. And you may have noticed a shift in your children’s sleep schedules.  Many parents have found the […]