Sleep Board Review Questions: The Restless Sleeper

Tauseef Afaq, MD¹

Rohit Budhiraja, MD^1,2

¹ Department of Medicine, Section of Pulmonary, Allergy, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA. tafaq@deptofmed.arizona.edu

² Department of Medicine, Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Health Care System (SAVAHCS), Tucson, AZ 85723, USA. rohit.budhiraja@va.gov

A 50 year old female is being evaluated at the Sleep Clinic for difficulty falling asleep.  She reports having unpleasant sensation in her legs causing an urge to move when she lies down to go to sleep. She feels better when she gets up and walks around. She is a restless sleeper and usually finds her bed-sheets on the floor in the morning.  She does not have any other medical history. Her physical exam is normal. 

Which of the following studies would be most helpful in diagnosis and management of this patient?

1. Nerve conduction study
2. Nocturnal polysomnography (PSG)
3. Serum ferritin level
4. Suggested immobilization test (SIT)

Reference as: Afaq T, Budhiraja R. Sleep board review questions: the restless sleeper. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care 2012;5:262-5. PDF