Sleep Studies

As part of The Sleep Therapy Clinics’ commitment to ‘best practice’ standards of diagnosis and treatment, all patients undergo pre- and post-treatment polysomnograms (sleep studies) to first identify the nature and severity of any SDB condition, and then to objectively confirm the efficacy of treatment. 

In cases where the patient is referred by specialist sleep physician or sleep laboratory, one or both of the sleep studies will usually be completed in a clinical environment with sleep technicians in attendance.  These attended sleep studies are considered to be the gold standard, but waiting times, patient compliance, sleep quality in the strange environment of the sleep lab, cost and other issues mean they are normally only required for more serious conditions. 

In other cases, portable sleep diagnostic recorders may be used.  These advanced (mobile phone sized) 8 channel recorders measure brain activity, cardiac activity, breathing pattern and stoppages, duration of stoppages, blood oxygen saturations, limb movements, number of awakenings, level of sleep and much more – all in the comfort and privacy of the patient’s own bedroom.

Patients are more likely to proceed with a sleep study under these circumstances, and generally enjoy a more ‘typical’ night’s sleep than would have been the case if they had needed to spend the night in a strange bed and foreign lab environment. 

A comprehensive report on the sleep study, including analysis and diagnosis by a specialist sleep physician, is normally completed within two weeks.  The patient’s primary healthcare practitioner is provided with a copy of this report, along with all other relevant case notes. In cases where the portable sleep diagnostic recorder identifies significant issues, a full (attended) polysomnogram in a sleep laboratory is normally required – but the portable units are sufficient in the majority of cases.    This means waiting times are reduced, the cost of diagnosis is minimized, and prompt treatment minimizes the risk of the patient developing more serious or costly health issues, such as hypertension or stroke.

Up until recently there was some concern that portable sleep diagnostic recorders might not provide a sufficiently good record of the patient's sleep.  A number of excellent studies have now been completed and confirm that portable recorders, such as those used in The Sleep Therapy Clinics, are excellent tools for the identification and diagnosis of SDB conditions.

These concerns have been allayed by the introduction of state-of-the-art 'Type 2' recorders, and stringent protocols for the use of these recorders, as defined in the 'Guidelines For Adult Sleep Studies' published by the Australasian Sleep Association and The Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand.  The Sleep Therapy Clinics comply with these guidelines, using only sleep physicians with particular expertise in the use of these types of recorders.

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