To perform ambulatory polysomnography, patients usually receive instructions from a technician. The switch to instructions through a video saves health professionals time and increases the number of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) diagnosis.

This study aimed to compare the technical quality of level III sleep studies when explanation is carried out via video or face-to-face explanation by a technician.

100 random patients (50 in each group) with suspected OSA received device placement instructions in person or through a video. The overall quality of sleep studies was analyzed by determining the number of technically invalid studies. The recording quality of pulse oximeter, nasal flow cannula, chest, and abdominal bands was evaluated by checking for signal artifacts.

There was a predominance of females (54%) and a mean age of 59 years. Regarding the overall quality of sleep studies, there were no statistically significant differences between groups. Six studies (12%) in the face-to-face group and 2 studies (4%) in the video group were classified as technically invalid. Patients who received video explanation had fewer failures in the pulse oximetry assessment, with statistical significance (p=0.029). In the remaining parameters, there was no statistically significant difference between groups.

Level III sleep study with video explanation is as effective as face-to-face explanation, enabling optimization of resources and increasing OSA diagnosis, without increased technical errors. Furthermore, this study found that the quality of oximetry signal was better in patients who received video instructions, a critical signal for OSA diagnosis and the most common cause of inconclusive studies.