Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a common sleep related breathing disorder. Its prevalence is estimated to be between 2% and 25% in the general population. However, the prevalence of sleep apnea is much higher in patients undergoing elective surgery. Sedation and anesthesia have been shown to increase the upper airway collapsibility and therefore increasing the risk of having postoperative complications in these patients. Furthermore, the majority of patients with sleep apnea are undiagnosed and therefore are at risk during the perioperative period. It is important to identify these patients so that appropriate actions can be taken in a timely fashion. In this review article, we will discuss the epidemiology of sleep apnea in the surgical population. We will also discuss why these patients are at a higher risk of having postoperative complications, with the special emphasis on the role of anesthesia, opioids, sedation, and the phenomenon of REM sleep rebound. We will also review how to identify these patients preoperatively and the steps that can be taken for their perioperative management. OSAS has been shown to be associated with various healthrelated consequences, including increased rate of motor vehicle accidents, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, congestive heart failure, stroke, and all-cause mortality. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Recently, numerous studies have demonstrated that surgical patients with sleep apnea are at increased risk of having perioperative complications, including hypoxemia, pneumonia, diffi cult intubation, myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism, atelectasis, cardiac arrhythmias, and unanticipated admission to the ICU. The majority of patients with OSA are undiagnosed upon admission and are at risk during the perioperative period, presumably due to their underlying sleep apnea. Therefore, it is very important to identify these patients preoperatively so that one can initiate appropriate perioperative measures. EpidemiologyOSAS is an extremely common sleep related breathing disorder, and its prevalence has been increasing throughout the world because of obesity and increasing age of the general population. Its prevalence is between 2% and 25% in the general population, depending upon how sleep apnea is defi ned. In an epidemiological study, Young et al. noted that the prevalence of sleep apnea, defi ned as apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 5/h was 9% for women and 24% for men. 10 However, the prevalence of OSAS (defi ned as AHI ≥ 5/h and daytime sleepiness) was 2% in women and 4% in men. 10 The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) Sleep in America 2005Poll found that 1 in 4 Americans are at high risk of having sleep apnea based on the Berlin Questionnaire. 11 The prevalence of sleep apnea is much higher in surgical patients and depends on the type of surgery. In the bariatric surgery population, the prevalence of sleep apnea has been found to be > 70%. 12,13 It is the standard of care for these patients to get a formal sleep evaluation prior to undergoing the bariatric surgery. Howev...

The STOP-BANG questionnaire is useful for preoperative identification of patients at higher than normal risk for surgical complications, probably because it identifies patients with occult OSAS.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

A retrospective study was performed on heavily pigmented pulmonary cytologic specimens from 14 hospital patients to determine the clinical features distinguishing these cases. The lavage fluid or sputum in each case was turbid and gray or black, exceeding the blackness usually seen in heavy tobacco smokers dwelling in the same urban environment. Excessive carbonaceous material was observed in the cytoplasm of pulmonary alveolar macrophages or the extracellular compartment of the smears. The latter feature is not seen in cigarette smokers. Many other pigmentary sources were ruled out, including melanin, hemosiderin, medicinal charcoal, India ink, and hematoxylin crystals. The common feature of the patients was that they recently or currently smoked the crack form of cocaine heavily; five patients also had positive toxicologic results for cocaine at admission. The authors suggest that blackened bronchoalveolar lavage fluid indicates the possibility of crack cocaine smoking and the associated sequelae, particularly when the carbonaceous material is present in the extracellular compartment.

Patients showing increased airway dimensions at the level of the velum and/or oropharynx with a jaw thrust may benefit the most from OAT. The use of DISE to identify this subset of patients is helpful in optimizing outcomes with OAT.