Table 4.

Merits and demerits of portable sleep monitoring

Merits of portable monitors

Can resolve problems related to accessing sleep clinics and laboratories

Reduction in costs and waiting times for level 1 and level 2 sleep studies

May obviate the need for exhaustive testing when OSA is strongly suspected

Comfort and convenience of sleeping at home ensures less disruption of sleep

Feasible option for patients with limited mobility

Demerits of portable monitors

Patient self-hookup/unattended study may affect data quality

Variability owing to diversity in devices and scoring schemes

Non-OSA sleep disorders, occult seizures and cardiac arrhythmias may be missed

Lack of EEG channels precludes sleep staging, thus affecting accuracy of grading severity if it is OSA

*EEG: Electroencephalography