PCON to sponsor SECO course on sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea has a wide range of systemic and ocular manifestations, so optometrists should question patients about the condition as part of the history, recommends Brad Sutton, OD, FAAO.

Primary Care Optometry News will provide partial sponsorship of Sutton’s 1-hour continuing education course at SECO, which will cover the signs, incidence, manifestations and treatments for obstructive sleep apnea.

Signs of sleep apnea include snoring, tiredness, obvious breathing cessation, increased blood pressure, increased body mass index, age older than 50 years, neck size 19 inches or greater and male gender, according to Sutton, who is a clinical professor at the Indiana University School of Optometry and practices at Indianapolis Eye Care Center.

The incidence of sleep apnea varies widely in the literature, but it is believed that 80% of men and 90% of women with obstructive sleep apnea are undiagnosed, Sutton says.

Systemic complications can include heart disease, hypertension and stroke, while a wide range of ocular side effects include floppy eyelid syndrome, keratoconus, nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, glaucoma (especially normal tension), papilledema, ischemic central serous chorioretinopathy and side effects from a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine.

The condition can be diagnosed at home with the use of pulse oximetry, Sutton says, but the gold standard is a polysomnography sleep study.

A number of treatment options exist for sleep apnea, including losing weight, quitting smoking, avoiding alcohol and sleeping pills, sleeping on the side of the body, use of acetazolamide, dental appliances, the Pillar procedure (where Dacron strips are inserted on the soft palate to keep the airway open), use of CPAP machine and surgical options.

“Sleep apnea and the eye” will be held 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on March 15. Click here to register and get more information.