THE MANAGEMENT OF OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA SYNDROME IN DRIVERS - RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE POLISH SOCIETY OF OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE, THE POLISH RESPIRATORY SOCIETY, THE NOFER INSTITUTE OF OCCUPATIONAL MEDICINE IN LODZ AND THE POLISH SLEEP RESEARCH SOCIETY

The findings of numerous studies and analyzes conducted in many countries have proven that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) negatively affects the psychophysical abilities drivers. Therefore, in Commission Directive 2014/85/EU of July, 1 2014, OSA was recognized as one of the most important risk factors for car accidents. The implementation of said Directive by Member States is to contribute to reducing the risk of such accidents. The implementation of the Directive in Poland has resulted in enacting the Ordinance of the Minister of Health of December 23, 2015 amending the ordinance on medical examinations of applicants for a driving license and drivers. Although Annex 2 to that regulation sets out the detailed conditions for a medical examination for OSA, it does not regulate or clarify the issue of tools and methods for suspecting OSA in a moderate or hard form. Therefore, it was necessary to develop standards of management for doctors authorized to perform medical examinations of drivers and applicants for a driving license in the case of suspected OSA. The paper presents an algorithm of proceedings that streamlines the case-law process in the above-mentioned cases, which was developed by the Polish Society of Occupational Medicine in cooperation with the Polish Respiratory Society, the Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine in Lodi and the Polish Sleep Research Society.