Fu Y, Xia Y, Yi H, Xu H, Guan J, Yin S Meta-analysis of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in obstructive sleep apnea with or without continuous positive airway pressure treatment. Sleep Breath. 2017 Mar;21(1):181-189. doi: 10.1007/s11325-016-1393-1. Epub 2016 Aug 8.
George CF Sleep apnea, alertness, and motor vehicle crashes. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2007 Nov 15;176(10):954-6. doi: 10.1164/rccm.200605-629PP. Epub 2007 Sep 6.
Lavie P, Herer P, Hoffstein V Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome as a risk factor for hypertension: population study. BMJ. 2000 Feb 19;320(7233):479-82. doi: 10.1136/bmj.320.7233.479.
Marin JM, Carrizo SJ, Vicente E, Agusti AG Long-term cardiovascular outcomes in men with obstructive sleep apnoea-hypopnoea with or without treatment with continuous positive airway pressure: an observational study. Lancet. 2005 Mar 19-25;365(9464):1046-53. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(05)71141-7.
Neruntarat C, Chantapant S Prevalence of sleep apnea in HRH Princess Maha Chakri Srinthorn Medical Center, Thailand. Sleep Breath. 2011 Dec;15(4):641-8. doi: 10.1007/s11325-010-0412-x. Epub 2010 Sep 17.
Nigro CA, Aimaretti S, Gonzalez S, Rhodius E Validation of the WristOx 3100 oximeter for the diagnosis of sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome. Sleep Breath. 2009 May;13(2):127-36. doi: 10.1007/s11325-008-0217-3. Epub 2008 Oct 2.
Stewart SA, Penz E, Fenton M, Skomro R Investigating Cost Implications of Incorporating Level III At-Home Testing into a Polysomnography Based Sleep Medicine Program Using Administrative Data. Can Respir J. 2017;2017:8939461. doi: 10.1155/2017/8939461. Epub 2017 Jul 16.
Tregear S, Reston J, Schoelles K, Phillips B Obstructive sleep apnea and risk of motor vehicle crash: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Sleep Med. 2009 Dec 15;5(6):573-81.
Interventional studies are often prospective and are specifically tailored to evaluate direct impacts of treatment or preventive measures on disease.
Observational studies are often retrospective and are used to assess potential causation in exposure-outcome relationships and therefore influence preventive methods.
Expanded access is a means by which manufacturers make investigational new drugs available, under certain circumstances, to treat a patient(s) with a serious disease or condition who cannot participate in a controlled clinical trial.
Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.
Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.