Hong Sukwoo, Kim Yewon, Ryu Ji-Young, Lee Sangyoon, Son Byung-Chul, Lee Chae-Kwan, Kim Dae-Hwan
Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital, 875 Heaundae-ro, Haeundae-Gu, Busan 612-862, South Korea.
Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, College of Medicine & Institute of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Inje University, 75 Bokji-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan, South Korea.
Ann Occup Environ Med. 2014 Apr 25;26:7. doi: 10.1186/2052-4374-26-7. eCollection 2014.
Obstructive sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that can cause excessive daytime sleepiness and impairment of cognition. These symptoms may lead to the occurrence of occupational accidents in workers with obstructive sleep apnea.
A 36-year-old man who worked as a dimensional control surveyor caused a vehicle accident while he was driving at the work site. Although he experienced loss of consciousness at the time of the accident, he had no other symptoms. His brain computed tomography and laboratory test did not show any specific findings. Medical tests were conducted to evaluate his fitness for work. Decreased sleep latency was observed on the electroencephalography image, which is suggestive of a sleep disorder. He frequently experienced daytime sleepiness and his Epworth sleepiness score was 13. The polysomnography showed a markedly increased apnea-hypopnea index of 84.3, which led to a diagnosis of severe obstructive sleep apnea. The patient was advised to return to work only when his obstructive sleep apnea improved through proper treatment.
Proper screening for obstructive sleep apnea among workers is important for preventing workplace accidents caused by this disorder, but screening guidelines have not yet been established in Korea. An effort toward preparing practical guidelines for obstructive sleep apnea is needed.
阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停是一种常见的睡眠障碍，可导致白天过度嗜睡和认知功能损害。这些症状可能导致阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停患者发生职业事故。
一名36岁的尺寸控制测量员在工作现场开车时发生了一起车辆事故。事故发生时他虽失去意识，但无其他症状。他的脑部计算机断层扫描和实验室检查未显示任何特异性结果。进行了医学检查以评估他的工作适应性。脑电图图像显示睡眠潜伏期缩短，提示存在睡眠障碍。他经常感到白天嗜睡，其爱泼华嗜睡量表评分为13分。多导睡眠图显示呼吸暂停低通气指数显著升高，为84.3，诊断为重度阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停。建议患者只有在通过适当治疗使阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停得到改善后才能重返工作岗位。
对工人进行阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停的适当筛查对于预防由该疾病引起的工作场所事故很重要，但韩国尚未制定筛查指南。需要努力制定阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停的实用指南。
