Sleep disorders
What is the best way to deal with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome? [TranslationAL]

What is the best way to deal with Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome? (OSAS is a sleep disorder characterised by pauses (apnoea) in breathing - of 10 seconds or more - or very low breathing.) The two main treatment options are Continuous Positive Airway Pressure and Oral Appliances. Nicolas Krucien and colleagues elicited preference weights from 121 patients newly-diagnosed with OSAS in a French hospital*. In the first of three Annalisas their average Weightings are combined with Ratings provided by the authors in order to predict patient population demands for the two options. We then permit the weightings to be varied and finally the Ratings can also be changed.

*Krucien, N., Gafni, A., Fleury, B., & Pelletier-Fleury, N. (2013). Patients’ with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) preferences and demand for treatment: a discrete choice experiment. Thorax, 68(5), 487–8. doi:10.1136/thoraxjnl-2012-202240. On open access at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3625824/

Image credit: Habib M’henni / Wikimedia Commons. habib.mhenniATgmail.com