Diagnosis and Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) represents a major public health issue affecting over 10% of the general adult, more than 80% of the geriatric, and up to 11% of the pediatric populations. Numerous studies have demonstrated distinct associations between OSA and diabetes, daytime drowsiness, and cardiopulmonary compromise including myocardial infarction. Considering the estimated rate of underdiagnosis, OSA is expected to exert a significant unrealized toll on the global healthcare infrastructure with the number of diagnoses increasing each year. The diagnosis of OSA entails subjective and objective evaluations including sleep surveys and polysomnography. Accordingly, treatment of OSA also encompasses a large variety of conservative, pharmacologic, and surgical interventions. Treatment selection remains a difficult but critical part of intervention especially when multiple modalities are required. This chapter aims to describe not only the presentation of this head and neck airway pathology but the interprofessional management strategies employed.