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Central vs Clear Airway - Printable Version

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Central vs Clear Airway - Hydrangea - 03-14-2017

Is there a difference between a "central" versus a "clear airway"?  Or are they both the same thing?

I read on here that centrals can mean things... and I see CAs on my Sleepyhead data... so I'm wondering if that means I'm having centrals.

I have a feeling I'll be directed to read a wiki again. I've read the darn thing at least thrice!  But I'm learning something new every day!


RE: Central vs Clear Airway - richb - 03-14-2017

(03-14-2017, 07:35 PM)Hydrangea Wrote: Is there a difference between a "central" versus a "clear airway"?  Or are they both the same thing?

I read on here that centrals can mean things... and I see CAs on my Sleepyhead data... so I'm wondering if that means I'm having centrals.

I have a feeling I'll be directed to read a wiki again. I've read the darn thing at least thrice!  But I'm learning something new every day!

Clear Airway events are essentially the same as Central Apneas. Your ResMed machine checks your airway with a low frequency pulse that can verify that your airway is open even though you are not breathing. Use Sleepyhead software and post some data if you would like comments on these events.

Rich


RE: Central vs Clear Airway - justMongo - 03-14-2017

For the purpose of discussion a clear airway and a central event may be considered synonymous. If we nit-pick the definitions there may be a subtle difference.


RE: Central vs Clear Airway - chill - 03-14-2017

And having a few now and then is not a cause of concern.


RE: Central vs Clear Airway - Sleeprider - 03-14-2017

A clear airway is a cessation of breathing for at least 10 seconds while the airway is open, and it's main difference from a "central" is that we are not specifying the cause. We record CA all the time in disrupted sleep, turning in bed, holding your breath etc. There are a lot of reasons we miss a breath and record a CA that has nothing to do with central apnea. To the machine it all looks the same. When we see scattered CA events in a chart spread through the night, or near times of likely arousal, it is usually more correct to think of them as clear airway. When we see clusters of CA and hypopnea that appear more repetitive and frequent, then we are more likely to use the term central apnea.

We only have information the machines record, and can't really diagnose central apnea, so clear airway is probably more accurate. Clear airway is a non-diagnostic term, while central apnea refers to a specific type of apnea caused by a variety of neurological, pharmaceutical, or respiratory drive problems.


RE: Central vs Clear Airway - Hydrangea - 03-14-2017

Aaaaaah, ok. That all makes a lot of sense to me. Thanks for all the input.

Just recently I saw 9 CAs in an 8 hour sleep (spread throughout), and wondered about it.

So I guess I should look at several nights' worth of data to see how things look. I do have more hypopneas than I'd like. So I'll look at how they cluster or not. Thanks for that tip.


RE: Central vs Clear Airway - Sleeprider - 03-14-2017

This will drive you crazy, hypopnea can be treated with pressure support, but too much pressure support can cause central apneas, and hypopnea can be either obstructive or central, but you won't know which.