Portable-monitor testing: an alternative strategy for managing patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Portable-monitor testing is being used increasingly in ambulatory management pathways for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Wide varieties of portable monitors are commercially available and they range from single-channel recorders to units that record a full polysomnogram. Recent comparative effectiveness research studies have shown that clinical outcomes of patients with a high pretest probability for obstructive sleep apnea who receive ambulatory management using portable-monitor testing have similar functional outcomes and adherence to continuous positive airway pressure treatment, compared to patients managed with in-laboratory polysomnography. The cost-effectiveness of portable-monitor testing and its potential to improve patient access to diagnosis and treatment requires further investigation.