@article{AJO5180,
author = {Blake Lindsay and James Every and Nicholas Phillips and Andrew Jones and Stuart MacKay},
title = {Association between mean disease alleviation and Epworth Sleepiness Scale in adult obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA)},
journal = {Australian Journal of Otolaryngology},
volume = {9},
number = {0},
year = {2026},
keywords = {},
abstract = {Background: Conventional measures of treatment efficacy [reduction in Apnoea-Hypopnoea Index (AHI)] poorly correlate with patient reported symptoms, such as the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Mean disease alleviation (MDA) takes into account treatment adherence and efficacy, and may offer a novel way to monitor sleep apnoea treatment and patient symptoms. This study aimed to determine the relationship between MDA and symptoms of daytime somnolence measured by the ESS.Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of adult patients treated for OSA, from a sleep clinic cohort, treated between 2008 and 2021. Patients with OSA were included in this study if they had been treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or multilevel airway surgery, and also had pre- and post- treatment ESS and AHI data. MDA was calculated as the product of efficacy (reduction in AHI between pre-CPAP and CPAP sleep studies or pre- and post-surgery sleep studies) and adherence (derived from CPAP adherence reports or assumed as 100% for surgery patients). Pearson Correlation analysis was utilised to examine this relationship between reduction in AHI, MDA and ESS.Results: One hundred and ten adult OSA patients met inclusion criteria for this study (CPAP, n=40; surgery, n=70). The cohort’s mean MDA was 66.5%±27.8%. The mean ESS decreased from 11.6±5.6 to 5.0±3.8, representing a mean reduction of 6.6 points [95% confidence interval (CI): 5.6–7.7; P},
issn = {2616-2792}, url = {https://www.theajo.com/article/view/5180}
}