Slow Eye Movement (SEM) Analysis In Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome (OSAHS)

Objective:To determine whether slow eye movement (SEM) analysis performs comparably to standard sleep onset criteria at the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) and at the maintenance of wakefulness test (MWT) in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAHS).Methods:We compared SEM latencies with sleep latencies, obtained upon standard analysis of MSLT and MWT recordings artificially, in a population of20severe OSAHS patients that randomly underwent the two tests2days apart, They all answered the Epworth Sleepiness Scale and got the score.Results:18of20OSAHS patients had EDS as answered by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). Mean SEM latency is different from standard sleep onset in the MSLT (4.17±1.94min versus5.34±1.97min, p<0.001), and the MWT (12.03±9.67min versus12.99±9.76min, p<0.001). Mean SEM latency obviously correlated with the sleep latency at the MSLT (r=0.958, p<0.001) and at the MWT (r＝0.997, p<0.001). Finally, the Epworth Sleepiness Scale score correlated with SEM latency at the MSLT (r=-0.580, p=0.007), but not at the MWT.Conclusions:SEM analysis and standard polysomnographic assessment of sleep onset are different, but they obviously correlated with each other, thus providing a simplified technical requirement for the MSLT and the MWT.