Higher AHI during Polysomnography than WatchPAT

[blancobonzo]

Hello. Not looking for advice just curious to see if anyone has insight. My AHI on my WatchPAT study was 1.8 with REM AHI of 4.7. My on the PSG I had done recently my AHI was 12 with REM AHI of 20. I know that at-home sleep studies can have a lot of unflagged events such as RERAs and Hypopneas but isn't an apnea a cessation of breathing for longer than 10 seconds? How could it underreport that? I did use a prescribed Ambien 5mg to help me fall asleep during the sleep study and they said it shouldn't affect the results too much, and could only make them slightly worse. Luckily this means I don't have to worry about insurance coverage anymore with this higher AHI. Does anyone know anything about at home studies being inaccurate in terms of Apneas. Thanks for any input.

[Crimson Nape]

AHI can vary greatly from day to day. Unless your study was over several days, you should regard it as a snapshot in time. It may or may not represent the overall assessment of your apnea.

[blancobonzo]

Ok. I was just curious ty. It doesn't really matter what my AHI is before, except for insurance purposes. Luckily now my doctor agrees that it could cause symptoms and that they aren't attributable to a mental health problem.

[Gideon]

Which bed were you not comfortable with? Which room were you more familiar with? Which test had more attachments?

I'd expect a inlab test to yield more events just for those reasons