Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a disease of significant importance, which may lead to numerous severe clinical consequences. The gold standard in the diagnosis of this sleep-related breathing disorder (SRBD) is polysomnography (PSG). However, due to the need for high expertise of staff who perform this procedure, its complexity, and relatively low availability, some simpler substitutes have been developed; among them is polygraphy (PG), which is most widely used. Also, there is a variety of questionnaires suitable to assess the pre-test probability and severity of OSA. The most frequently used ones are the STOP-BANG questionnaire (SBQ), NoSAS questionnaire, and Berlin questionnaire (BQ). However, they have different sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) when being used in various populations. The aim of this study is to provide a concise and clinically-oriented review of the most frequently used questionnaires, with special attention to its strengths and limitations. Moreover, we discuss whether PSG or PG would be more preferred for confirming OSA diagnosis with the highest likelihood.

Introduction: Sarcoidosis and tuberculosis (TB) are the diseases that share many similarities. Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) culture results are the gold standard for the diagnosis of TB, but false positive results are not rare. The aim was to evaluate the utility of QFT in detecting latent TB infection in a group of sarcoidosis patients with negative history of TB and negative culture/BACTEC results, and checking sarcoidosis activity influence on the QFT results. Additionally, we assessed if QFT negative result may strengthen the suspicion that positive culture/BACTEC results are false positive. Material and methods: 37 culture-negative and 6 culture-positive sarcoidosis patients were enrolled. On the basis of clinical and radiological data TB was considered unlikely (false-positive results). A control group consisted of age-matched subjects with excluded TB (n = 37). QuantiFERON-TB GOLD In-Tube (QIAGEN, USA) was used according to the manual. Test validity was checked basing on the results obtained from a low-risk (n = 21) and active TB group (n = 23). Results: The frequency of positive results tended to be higher in MTB(-) sarcoidosis (24.3% vs. 13.5% for the control group, p = 0.37), but was similar to the general population. None of culture-positive sarcoidosis patients was QFT-positive. The positive results were equally distributed among patients with active and inactive sarcoidosis. Conclusions: QFT has been found to be the useful test for the detection of latent TB infection in sarcoidosis patients. In addition, we confirm that sarcoidosis activity does not negatively influence the result of QFT. Moreover, QFT would be proposed as a cost-saving diagnostic test providing additional diagnostic information when false positive MTB culture result in the sarcoidosis patient is highly suspected. However, in each case clinical, radiological and epidemiological data should be considered before taking the therapeutic decision.

The aim of this study is to provide a brief summary of the epidemiological data on obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) diagnosis and therapy in different regions of Poland from 2010 to 2019. We performed a retrospective study in the sleep center of the Department of Sleep Medicine and Metabolic Disorders, Medical University of Lodz, Poland. We requested data from the National Health Service concerning the number of new diagnoses of OSAS, the polysomnographies (PSGs) that were performed, and reimbursements of positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy in each region of Poland in the period 2010–2019. The constant increase in the number of polysomnographies performed and PAP reimbursements suggests the need to create a national network between regional sleep centers to provide proper care for patients with OSAS, and PAP therapy.