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Optimising Screening, Diagnosis and Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

Description 
The literature providing evidence of the high prevalence and significant impacts of snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in children is recent and increasing. Sleep studies are the gold standard for accurately defining the severity of OSA, informing treatment decisions, monitoring the progress of disease and monitoring treatment with airway pressure support or surgical intervention, respectively. Currently in-laboratory PSG (Level 1 PSG, hereafter L1 PSG) is used to screen, diagnose and monitor OSA in children. These studies are funded by the Australian government. However, L1 PSG has limited availability, high cost and significant inconvenience to families. Younger children (under 6 years) and those with neurodevelopmental disability comprise approximately 60% of the population referred for L1 studies yet these same children have the lowest tolerance for L1 PSG studies. . Simplified and unattended home sleep studies (Level 3, hereafter L3 studies) are widely used in Europe and offer an attractive option to reduce costs, facilitate the diagnostic process and expedite appropriate treatment, but there is limited evidence in highly selected populations as to their accuracy, clinical efficacy and cost effectiveness. This study is a clinical trial designed to evaluate the clinical, comparative- and cost-effectiveness of L3 sleep studies for both diagnostic and treatment monitoring pathways of OSA in children.
Essential criteria: 
Minimum entry requirements can be found here: https://www.monash.edu/admissions/entry-requirements/minimum
Keywords 
paediatrics; sleep; respiratory; sleep apnoea; children; diagnosis
School 
School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health / Hudson Institute of Medical Research » Paediatrics
Available options 
PhD/Doctorate
Masters by research
Masters by coursework
Honours
BMedSc(Hons)
Time commitment 
Full-time
Part-time
Top-up scholarship funding available 
No
Physical location 
Monash Children's Hospital
Co-supervisors 
Dr 
Lauren Nisbet

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