[Incidence and probable detection of sleep apnea in a hospital internal medicine department].

Sleep related breathing disturbance and internal diseases, mainly cardiovascular disorders are often in common. Because of the striking that in our hospital from the stations very few patients were announced to a polysomnography, we investigated the frequency and recognition of the sleep-apnoea-syndrome in the internal patients of our district hospital. All men between 30 and 80 years completed at 3 settling days a quite simple questionnaire about the typical syndromes of sleep-apnoea. Out of the 187 questioned persons we ascertained at least 8 patients (4.3%) with polysomnography and Mesam IV who suffered under a sleep-apnoea-syndrome (Apnoea-Index > or = 10) unknown at that time. In total the prevalence was 5.88%, because two patients were treated already with n-CPAP. In an other case the sleep-apnoea was supposed by the providing doctor.