ABSTRACT
Most patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) are known to snore heavily, but not all snorers have OSAS. Snorers without OSAS are termed primary snorers. Primary snoring and severe obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) represent opposite extremes of sleep-related breathing disorders. The prevalence of snoring in middle-aged men is in the range of 25-50 per cent, whereas OSA affects 1-4 per cent of the adult population, with the male to female ratio being 2:1.1 Sleep medicine is a relatively new field; the management of patients presenting with sleep disorders may require a multidisciplinary approach that could include input from a respiratory physician, otolaryngologist, neurologist, maxillofacial surgeon or a dental practitioner. Otolaryngologists are well positioned to assess and evaluate the upper airway and may be able to surgically rectify some pathological features that are causing the upper airway obstruction. The respiratory physician, on the other hand, may attract more referral from primary care
practitioners of patients complaining of obvious apnoeic episodes for consideration of treatment with nocturnal ventilation.
