Citation

Carmona Bernal C, Capote Gil F, Botebol Benhamou G, García López P, Sánchez Armengol A, Castillo Gómez J. Arch Bronconeumol. 2000; 36(8): 436-440.

Vernacular Title

Evaluacion de la somnolencia diurna excesiva en conductores profesionales con

Affiliation

Unidad Médico-Quirúrgica de Enfermedades Respiratorias, Hospitales Universitarios Virgen del Rocío, Sevilla.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11004984

Abstract

Excessive daytime sleepiness is a common symptom of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and can be a cause of traffic accidents, creating a problem of particular importance for professional drivers given the associated death, disability and professional repercussions. We assessed whether the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), which is a subjective measure of daytime sleepiness, correlates well with multiple sleep latency (MSL) testing, which gives an objective measure of daytime sleepiness. We also compared each method with the results of polysomnography (apnea-hypopnea index, arousal index and minimum oxygen saturation). We studied 55 professional drivers suspected of OSAS. All answered the ESS questionnaire and underwent polysomnographic and MSL testing. We found a significant, though not relevant, correlation between the degree of excessive daytime sleepiness estimated by the ESS and by MSL testing (r = -0.41; p = 0.002). A significant, though weak, correlation was found between the ESS score and the arousal index (r = 0.26; p < 0.05). Our results do not clarify which method is best for measuring excessive daytime sleepiness in professional drivers suspected of OSAS.

Language: es