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Papers of the Week


2021 May 21


Sleep Breath

Positive airway pressure therapy for chronic pain in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-a systematic review.

Authors

McCarthy K, Saripella A, Selvanathan J, Nagappa M, Englesakis M, Wang D, Peng P, Chung F
Sleep Breath. 2021 May 21.
PMID: 34021465.

Abstract

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is prevalent in patients with chronic non-cancer pain. OSA may lead to low sleep quality and an increase in pain sensitivity. Patients reporting greater sleep impairment tend to experience higher pain intensity and vice versa. Positive airway pressure (PAP) is the current gold standard treatment for OSA. This review aims to evaluate the efficacy of PAP therapy in patients with comorbid chronic pain and OSA in influencing pain outcomes like pain intensity, tolerance, threshold, and sensitivity.