RESUMO
Objective We assess the impact of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) treatment on the quality of marital relationships. Moreover, we evaluate the proportion of couples sleeping separately before treatment and whether there was any change after treatment began, which is still little explored in the literature. Methods A prospective study was conducted between April 2021 and April 2023, with users diagnosed with OSA in a level 2 hospital in Portugal. A questionnaire was applied before and after the start of treatment to both user and partner, which included questions on whether they slept together or separately, the disturbing factors of sleep quality, and satisfaction with the marital relationship. Statistical analysis was performed using R (version 4.2.2; R Development Core Team, Vienna, Austria). Results Seventy questionnaires were applied, 79% to male users. Forty-one percent of users reported that they slept at least once or twice a month separated from their spouse, and, of these, 41% always slept in separate rooms. The chief complaints of partners not sleeping together were snoring (86%), restless sleep (17%), and witnessed apnea (14%). After treatment, 72.4% started to sleep together again, with a statistically significant difference in the condition before and after intervention. Among all patients, 69% said that their personal lives had improved and, when asked the same question to their spouse, 74% recognized the benefit of therapy. Conclusion Starting treatment positively influenced the quality of the marital relationship of users and their partners, with a statistically significant proportion of couples sleeping together again.
RESUMO
The incidence of benign obstructive central airway disease has been increasing. There are several causes for this type of obstruction. The most common appears after orotracheal intubation and post-tracheotomy. The diagnosis of tracheal stenosis requires clinical suspicion and complementary diagnostic tests. The authors describe the case of a patient who showed respiratory distress and dyspnoea that had biphasic stridor, with no changes in cardiopulmonary auscultation or in blood samples. Chest X-ray revealed severe narrowing of the tracheal air column at C7 level, confirmed by CT scan. This report shows a rare case of tracheal stenosis, with images of clinical interest and relevance, that can alert scientific community to this situation. (AU)
