Correspondence (letter to the editor): Polysomnographic Screening Helpful

This commendable review on severe asthma lists gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) as one of the potential comorbidities or triggers for the condition (1). In this context, I would like to highlight the important role of sleep-related breathing disorders, in particular of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Odds ratios of 3.6 and, for older asthma patients, even 6.67 have been reported for the association between OSA and the exacerbation of bronchial asthma (2, 3).

Should simple questions asked when taking a patient’s history raise the suspicion of OSA, ambulatory polysomnography screening can easily be performed to verify the diagnosis. In case of positive initial findings, further prospective studies will be required to clarify the role of CPAP treatment in improving asthma control (3).