| Indication for sleep study | Comment |
| Symptoms of obstructive sleep apnoea or hypoventilation | |
| Recurrent chest infections | May indicate nocturnal hypoventilation, consider secretion clearance adjuncts |
| Loss of ambulation because of progressive weakness or in those who never attain ability to walk | Often a feature in Duchenne muscular dystrophy |
| Vital capacity <60% predicted | |
| Diaphragm weakness | Usually bilateral diaphragm weakness required for nocturnal hypoventilation to develop, but unilateral weakness combined with other lung disease may precipitate sleep disordered breathing |
| Infantile onset muscle weakness | Often associated with severe muscle weakness |
| Rigid spine syndrome | Nocturnal hypoventilation can occur despite near normal vital capacity |
| Assessment for surgery or pregnancy feasibility | Consider as part of evaluation of patients with neuromuscular disease in addition to pulmonary function tests, measurement of respiratory muscle strength and echocardiography |
Reproduced from [1] with permission from the publisher.