Is a 2 hr sleep study sufficient - newbie here

[jta]

I just recently had a split study. After 2 hrs the tech came in and put a mask on me. Then a few days later I get a call from a DME company that says the Dr. that is the head of the sleep study whom I've never met ordered a cpap machine for me. (I had my primary Dr. set the sleep study up) So far no one has called me to review the sleep study . My question is is 2 hrs enough to come up with a diagnosis?

[seeker01]

I only made it 1 hour 1/2 before they put the CPAP on me. During that 1/2 hours I had 70+ apneas and oxygen level of 76%. I slept the rest of the night with the CPAP to determine my pressure. Is that long enough I'm not sure. Hopefully someone on here with more experience can answer that I would be interested in knowing my self. I wish you luck hang in there...

[Julie]

It's enough if you exhibited many apneas during that time - they do measure things by the hour. And the business about which MD is which is standard... your MD may have set up the study, but may not otherwise know a lot about the business of it, the equipment, etc., and the sleep MD is probably a lot more qualified to prescribe a pressure for you.

[wil]

My MD referred me, I met with a nurse practitioner who set up the study, and then a doctor interprets the results. Fairly common in medicine today... when you have an xray (or any other radiology test) a doctor has to interpret them, not the tech that does them or the doctor that prescribed them.

Also, I was only in for two hours (AHI 102.1, O2Sat under 70%) before they started to titrate the cpap for my prescription. This is pretty common as well, especially if you have Severe problems. If your problems are less severe (and less obvious) they may take longer, and may even have to bring you back in for titration. This is inconvenient for you, as it delays your treatment, time consuming for the sleep center, and more expensive. It's a win-win if you can do it all in one night.

[jnk]

Once a diagnostic study has collected enough data to ensure treatment will be paid for, it has served its main purpose.

The titration is when it is seen whether you react well to pressure and whether other conditions are caused (or unmasked) with the application of pressure.

[Big Daddy RRT,RPSGT]

The sleep lab saved you another full night in the sleep lab (and Money) by splitting you. In our sleep lab we only split you if you have severe sleep apnea so the amount of apneas you have might vary hour to hour but if the question is do you have OSA or not? The answer is yes. If the question is EXACTLY how severe is my sleep apnea then a full night is more accurate. So I think they did you a favor.

The main problem with a split night is the CPAP titration portion. During a split you have less time to adjust the pressure. For many patients a few pressure adjustments and your respratory events are minimized. For others the titration may be incomplete. If you don't make progress with your new cpap unit at home over your first few weeks you may need a full night of titration in the sleep lab or a two week trial of auto to determine a more appropriate pressure. I hope this helps your understanding.

[brain_cloud]

The sleep lab saved you another full night in the sleep lab (and Money) by splitting you. In our sleep lab we only split you if you have severe sleep apnea so the amount of apneas you have might vary hour to hour but if the question is do you have OSA or not? The answer is yes. If the question is EXACTLY how severe is my sleep apnea then a full night is more accurate. So I think they did you a favor.

It's not just exactly how severe; it's during which sleeping positions and which sleep stages. And what else is going on. That can be valuable information. Since most people having sleep studies have insurance picking up most of the tab, I'm not sure it's in their best interest to forego that information to save a few hundred dollars. The insurance company will appreciate the favor though.

The question of whether or not to do a split night should be determined beforehand, in a discussion between the patient and doctor, after sizing up the pros and cons of each.

[BlueBird55]

I don't know if 2 hr sleep study is sufficient ...
however, what I find totally irresponsible is that doctors don’t sit down with the patient to explain the results of the sleep study. I want to be involved in my healthcare. It’s not enough for me when someone tells me the diagnosis and then gives me prescription. This prevents me as a patient from making informed decisions. A month ago I had my 3rd sleep study (2003, 2005). In 2003 I was diagnosed with OSA – no explanations; Started using CPAP; 2005 sleep study the responds was: hmm the sleep apnea is not as severe anymore, but keep on doing what you’re doing; 2010 I again did not see the report, but was told to triple my Nuvigil & increase pressure to 13. I just requested a copy of the report.
I believe a patient has the right for explanations and discussions.

[Needsleep75]

Usualy the way most sleep studies work is if you have over 40 eppisodes a hour they wake you up as soon as you hit that and put the mask on. Be it 1 hour or 3 that it takes you to get there. I only went about 2 hours before I was put on the mask. I found out when I got my results that I was having 69.4 hypopneas a hour and O2 sat got down to 85%. My sleep study place called me and told me the full results of the test and said the DME would call me when they got the prescription. Also if you ask for a full copy of your sleep study they will give it to you usualy. Mine was 18 pages long and very interesting to look at

[GumbyCT]

I don't know if 2 hr sleep study is sufficient ...
however, what I find totally irresponsible is that doctors don’t sit down with the patient to explain the results of the sleep study. I want to be involved in my healthcare. It’s not enough for me when someone tells me the diagnosis and then gives me prescription.

I am not in anyway condoning this practice but am willing to bet that because it is NOT billable to the Ins. Co. is the reason you don't meet the doc.

If you should choose to make a separate appt. you can likely speak with a doc but with most money mill type operations it likely will NOT be the doc who scored your PSG bc I believe that in most cases the scoring is done by someone other than the doc who signed off on the PSG, either a sleep tech or a nurse who is trusted by this doc.

I do know that a total of not less than 2hr of diagnostic sleep is required by Medicare and a few Ins. Co.

Even tho my 1st PSG was a split study and I was asked to return the very next nite bc they recorded no supine sleep that I only received a total of 110 minutes of diag. sleep. Go Figure.

Those were the 2 worst nites of sleep I have ever had in my life. The sleep center flat out refused to do a Mea Culpa at No Charge to me so that is when I bailed and took my money with me. Good-bye Gaylord.

HTH