Exclusively ambulatory techniques and equipment were as successful at identifying and treating sleep apnea as the current method of polysomnography, which requires several supervised overnight stays in a sleep laboratory.
The ambulatory method involved identifying high-probability patients with a standardized clinical assessment and at-home portable sleep monitoring and auto-titration of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).
Sixty-eight patients with high likelihood of having sleep apnea were assigned to groups that received polysomnography or the sleep tests at home. Both groups received continuous positive airway pressure at night at home through a CPAP machine with face mask and hose.
After three months, the groups had the same results on three outcome measures, and those who received the initial diagnosis at home were more likely to adhere to the use of the CPAP treatment.