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Sleep and Breathing

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01-03-2020 | Multiple Sleep Latency Test | Methods • Review

Inside the clinical evaluation of sleepiness: subjective and objective tools

Authors: Simone Baiardi, Susanna Mondini

Published in: Sleep and Breathing | Issue 1/2020

Abstract

Purpose

To critically review the available tools for evaluating excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in clinical practice.

Methods

Objective tests and subjective scales were divided into three groups in accordance with the different dimensions of sleepiness they measure, namely physiological, manifest, and introspective. Strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of each test have been analysed and discussed along with the available recommendations for their use in clinical practice.

Results

The majority of the tests developed for sleepiness evaluation do not have practical usefulness outside the research setting. The suboptimal correlation between different tests mainly depends on the different dimensions of sleepiness they analyse. Most importantly in-laboratory tests poorly correlate with sleepiness in real-life situations and, to date, none is able to predict the risk of injuries related to EDS, especially on an individual level.

Conclusions

There exists not the one best test to assess EDS, however, clinicians can choose a more specific test to address a specific diagnostic challenge on the individual level. The development of novel performance tests with low cost and easy to administer is advisable for both screening purposes and fitness for duty evaluations in populations at high risk of EDS-related injuries, for example professional drivers.

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Title: Inside the clinical evaluation of sleepiness: subjective and objective tools
Authors: Simone Baiardi
Susanna Mondini
Publication date: 01-03-2020
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Keywords: Multiple Sleep Latency Test
Maintenance of Wakefulness Test
Narcolepsy
Published in: Sleep and Breathing / Issue 1/2020
Print ISSN: 1520-9512
Electronic ISSN: 1522-1709
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11325-019-01866-8

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Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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