Improvement in excessive daytime sleepiness after surgical treatment for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Abstract

The author's goal was to investigate the effects of surgical treatment on psychophysiological measurements in 17 patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and also to clarify the improvement process of each evaluation. Given the changes in respiratory disturbance and sleep architecture, it was obvious that surgical treatment had therapeutic effects on OSAS patients a few months after the surgery. In that process, a dissociation between objective and subjective sleepiness was observed. The improvement in objective sleepiness [multiple sleep latency test (MSLT)] was more delayed than the improvement in subjective sleepiness (Stanford Sleepiness Scale, Spaceaeromedicine fatigue checklist). The improvement of MSLT was associated with an improvement in sleep fragmentation. This finding suggests that the disruption of sleep continuity accompanied by respiratory disturbance might be responsible for the occurrence of objective sleepiness. It can be concluded that the effective management of OSAS needs to address the full range of psychophysiological manifestations, especially objective measurement of daytime sleepiness.