Episode 91: Sleep Apnoea | Pickwickian Syndrome

Charles Dicken’s first novel has an adolescent boy named Joe who was overweight and always sleepy. He could fall asleep at any time, even during meals. The novel is known as the Pickwick Papers. Decades later, doctors began to recognise patients with the same symptoms. They called it Pickwickian syndrome. Obstructive sleep apnoea is a common condition in the general community. Risk factors include being overweight, male, and over the age of 50. The difficulty for patients is they may not be aware they suffer from this condition unless a partner tells them they stop breathing during sleep. Fortunately, we have a number of treatment options available for patients who suffer from sleep apnoea. This is the story of sleep apnoea. Our special guests: Dr Saul Gilbert is the managing director of a sleep clinic called The Oasis in Adelaide with 25 years research and clinical experience in sleep psychophysiology. Dr Anuk Kruavit is a respiratory, sleep and general medicine physician with an interest in obstructive sleep apnoea and complex respiratory sleep disorders. Listen: This Medical Life podcast is available on all podcasting services and Spotify. Help support us on our donation page. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.