Biomedical subjects

A Bahammam

Publications and source records attributed to A Bahammam.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Does Ramadan fasting affect sleep?

Experimental fasting has been shown to alter the sleep-wakefulness pattern in various species. As fasting during Ramadan is distinct from experimental fasting, the physiological and behavioural changes occurring during Ramadan fasting may differ from those occurring during experimental fasting. There has been increased interest in recent years in sleep changes and daytime sleepiness during Ramadan. Moreover, many of those who fast during Ramadan associate this fasting with increased daytime sleepiness and decreased performance. This raises the question of whether Ramadan fasting affects sleep. In this review, we discuss the findings of research conducted to assess changes in sleep pattern, chronobiology, circadian rhythms, daytime sleepiness and function and sleep architecture during the month of Ramadan. Where applicable, these findings are compared with those obtained during experimental fasting.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1999

Health care utilization in males with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome two years after diagnosis and treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To document changes in health care utilization (physician claims and hospitalizations) two years after diagnosis and treatment of patients with OSAS. DESIGN: Prospective observational cohort study. SETTING: The study was done in the Canadian Province of Manitoba. OSAS patients were selected from a University-based sleep disorders center. Control subjects were selected from the general population. PATIENTS AND CONTROLS: There were 344 OSAS patients on whom there was utilization data for the period of the study. They were matched to controls from the general population by gender, age, and geographic location. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: The difference in physician claims between the patients and their matched controls two years after diagnosis and treatment ($174+/-32.4 (SE) per year in Canadian dollars) was significantly less than the difference in the year before diagnosis ($260+/-35.7 (SE), p=0.038). Examining the subgroups of patients adhering (PAT) or not adhering (PNAT) to treatment revealed that the changes were only significant in the patients adhering to treatment. Hospital stays for the entire OSAS group decreased from 1.27 days+0.25(SE) per patient per year one year before diagnosis to 0.54+0.13 per patient per year (p=0.01). The changes in the PAT group (1.25+0.28 per patient per year one year before diagnosis to 0.53+0.14 per patient per year (p=0.034) were significant while in the PNAT group they were not. CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to treatment in patients with OSAS results in a significant reduction in physician claims and hospital stays.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Health care utilization in the 10 years prior to diagnosis in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome patients.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) patients may have symptoms for years prior to recognition of their disorder, or they may be treated for the associated comorbidities. We hypothesized that such patients would be heavy consumers of health care resources for several years prior to diagnosis. We therefore compared health service utilization for a 10-year interval prior to diagnosis of 181 OSA patients to those of randomly selected age-, gender-, and geographically matched controls from the general population. OSAS patients used approximately twice as many health care services (as defined by physician claims and overnight stays in hospital) in the 10 years prior to their initial diagnostic evaluation for apnea. Physician claims for the OSA patients totaled $686,365 ($3972 per patient), compared to $356,376 ($1969 per patient) for the controls for the 10-year period examined in this study. Use of health services was significantly higher in 7 of 10 years prior to diagnosis. The OSAS patients also had more overnight hospitalizations: they spent 1118 nights (6.2 per patient) in hospital vs 676 nights (3.7 per patient) for controls in the decade prior to diagnosis. We conclude that by the time patients are finally diagnosed for sleep apnea, they have already been heavy users of health services for several years. It is possible that our findings reflect not OSAS per se, but the presence of some of the risk factors that predispose to OSAS, such as obesity, alcohol usage and perhaps tobacco consumption.

Canada↗

PubMed1999

Decision making in obstructive sleep-disordered breathing: putting It all together

Obstructive sleep-disordered breathing consists of a spectrum ranging from the upper airway resistance syndrome to complete apnea. Although this disorder is relatively common, it is still under-recognized, resulting in a significant increase in morbidity and mortality. This article describes the rationale for treating this disorder. Then, using the best available evidence, develops a systemic approach to the problem, covering recognition, diagnosis, and treatment.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1999

The validity of acid-fast smears of gastric aspirates as an indicator of pulmonary tuberculosis.

SETTING: A tuberculosis referral hospital in Canada. OBJECTIVE: To determine the validity of acid-fast (AFB) smears of gastric aspirates (GA) in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis, and to assess the prevalence of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in GA isolates from such patients. DESIGN: A retrospective case review of our experience with AFB smears (Kinyoun) and cultures of GA and sputum over a 3-year period. RESULTS: From 1994 to 1996 inclusive, 1155 GA were performed in 889 patients. Mycobacteria were cultured from 109 (9%) GA. Thirteen of these were positive on smear (sensitivity 19%). All GA that were positive on smear were culture positive for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. There were no false positive smears (specificity 100%). The sensitivity and specificity of the sputum smear were 45% and 99%, respectively. Of the 96 culture positive, smear negative GA, 54 grew M. tuberculosis and 42 grew an NTM. Of 13 patients who had sputum and GA studied coincidentally, and in whom the sputum was both smear and culture positive, the GA culture was positive in 13 and the smear was positive in eight (66%). CONCLUSION: AFB smear of GA is a relatively insensitive but highly specific indicator of pulmonary tuberculosis warranting institution of antituberculosis treatment. Gastric AFB smear positivity appears to reflect a high bacillary burden within the respiratory tract.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

Decision making in obstructive sleep-disordered breathing. Putting it all together.

Obstructive sleep-disordered breathing consists of a spectrum ranging from the upper airway resistance syndrome to complete apnea. Although this disorder is relatively common, it is still under-recognized, resulting in a significant increase in morbidity and mortality. In this article, we describe the rationale for treating this disorder. Then, using the best available evidence, we try to develop a systemic approach to the problem, covering recognition, diagnosis, and treatment.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗