Catathrenia: respiratory disorder or parasomnia?

Jorge Iriarte; Arantza Campo; Manuel Alegre; Secundino Fernández; Elena Urrestarazu

doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2014.12.026

Catathrenia: respiratory disorder or parasomnia?

Sleep Med. 2015 Jul;16(7):827-30. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2014.12.026. Epub 2015 Mar 27.

Authors

Jorge Iriarte¹, Arantza Campo², Manuel Alegre³, Secundino Fernández⁴, Elena Urrestarazu³

Affiliations

¹ Sleep Unit and Clinical Neurophysiology Department, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain. Electronic address: jiriarte@unav.es.
² Pneumology Department, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
³ Sleep Unit and Clinical Neurophysiology Department, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.
⁴ ENT Department, Clínica Universidad de Navarra, University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.

PMID: 26004681
DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2014.12.026

Abstract

Background: The International Classification of Sleep Disorders-Third Edition (ICSD-3) classifies catathrenia among the respiratory disorders and not as a parasomnia as in ICSD-2. Few patients have been reported during these years, and the clinical description of the sound is different from group to group. In fact, there is no full agreement about its nature, origin, meaning, and treatment.

Methods and results: In this paper we review the literature on catathrenia focusing on the characteristics of the sound, demographics of the patients, aetiology, response to treatment, etc., in order to support its classification as a respiratory disorder or a parasomnia. We also discuss the possibility of Catathrenia being not one disorder but two variants or two different disorders.

Keywords: Catathrenia; ICSD-3; Respiratory disorder.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Diagnosis, Differential
Humans
Parasomnias / diagnosis*
REM Sleep Parasomnias / diagnosis*
Respiration Disorders / diagnosis*
Respiratory Sounds*