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.