Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine Position Paper on Patient Sleep During Hospitalization.

This article addresses the issue of patient sleep during hospitalization, which the Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine believes merits wider consideration by health authorities than it has received to date. Adequate sleep is fundamental to health and well-being, and insufficiencies in its duration, quality, or timing have adverse effects that are acutely evident. These include cardiovascular dysfunction, impaired ventilatory function, cognitive impairment, increased pain perception, psychomotor disturbance (including increased fall risk), psychological disturbance (including anxiety and depression), metabolic dysfunction (including increased insulin resistance and catabolic propensity), and immune dysfunction and proinflammatory effects (increasing infection risk and pain generation). All these changes negatively impact health status and are counterproductive to recovery from illness and operation. Hospitalization challenges sleep in a variety of ways. These challenges include environmental factors such as noise, bright light, and overnight awakenings for observations, interventions, and transfers; physiological factors such as pain, dyspnea, bowel or urinary dysfunction, or discomfort from therapeutic devices; psychological factors such as stress and anxiety; care-related factors including medications or medication withdrawal; and preexisting sleep disorders that may not be recognized or adequately managed. Many of these challenges appear readily addressable. The key to doing so is to give sleep greater priority, with attention directed at ensuring that patients' sleep needs are recognized and met, both within the hospital and beyond. Requirements include staff education, creation of protocols to enhance the prospect of sleep needs being addressed, and improvement in hospital design to mitigate environmental disturbances. Hospitals and health care providers have a duty to provide, to the greatest extent possible, appropriate preconditions for healing. Accumulating evidence suggests that these preconditions include adequate patient sleep duration and quality. The Society of Anesthesia and Sleep Medicine calls for systematic changes in the approach of hospital leadership and staff to this issue. Measures required include incorporation of optimization of patient sleep into the objectives of perioperative and general patient care guidelines. These steps should be complemented by further research into the impact of hospitalization on sleep, the effects of poor sleep on health outcomes after hospitalization, and assessment of interventions to improve it.

Evaluation of an OSA risk stratifying and treatment protocol during inpatient rehabilitation of post-stroke patients.

PURPOSE: To evaluate outcomes, outside of a clinical trial setting, of a protocol utilizing overnight oximetry (NOx) to risk stratify post-stroke patients for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) followed by autoadjusting continuous positive airway pressure (APAP) treatment in patients considered high risk for OSA. METHODS: Retrospective observational study of post-stroke patients at an academic inpatient stroke rehabilitation facility. Patients underwent NOx, and those at high risk for OSA (oxygen desaturation index 3% > 10 per hour) were attempted on a trial of APAP, and further stratified into high risk adherent with treatment (HRAT) or high-risk failed treatment (HRFT). Change in functional independence measure (FIM) was used to assess recovery. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty-four post-stroke patients underwent NOx, with 120 (53%) considered high risk for OSA. Twelve (10%) were compliant with APAP treatment (> 4 h/night on > 70% of nights). No difference in change in FIM scores was observed for HRAT versus HRFT [total FIM change - 5.8, 95% CI (- 13.9, 2.2); motor FIM change - 4.5, 95% CI (- 11.5, 2.4); cognitive FIM change - 1.3, 95% CI (-3.8, 1.2)]. A subgroup analysis matched 14 HRAT patients (using adherence criterion of APAP usage > 50% of nights) to 35 HRFT patients. A statistically significant, but clinically irrelevant, difference in total FIM change was observed (HRAT vs HRFT, difference between means - 5.2, p = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: The use of APAP in high-risk patients was poorly tolerated and did not improve post-stroke recovery. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to determine the effect of APAP treatment on short-term recovery.

A sleeping beast: Obstructive sleep apnea and stroke.

Up to two-thirds of patients who have had a stroke have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) afterward. These patients have worse outcomes than those without OSA in terms of short-term morbidity, functional and cognitive recovery, and mortality rates over the long term. Following a stroke, identifying OSA and treating it with positive airway pressure, if possible, are important clinical goals.

A 15-Year-Old Boy with Mysterious Variability in Apnea-Hypopnea Index.

CASE PRESENTATION: A 15-year-old boy presented as a direct referral for polysomnography for evaluation of snoring, unrefreshing sleep, and daytime sleepiness despite a self-reported average of 8 hours of sleep a night. The mother reported he snored intermittently, although there were no witnessed apneic episodes or fragmented sleep. He denied morning headaches. He reported that his sleep was generally unrefreshing and he would experience significant daytime sleepiness, especially after school or when doing his homework. However, his Epworth Sleepiness Scale score was only 3 of 24. He denied any symptoms consistent with a movement disorder, parasomnia, cataplexy, hypnogogic/hypnopompic hallucinations, sleep paralysis, circadian rhythm disorders, or insomnia. He reported a family history of sleep apnea in his grandfather.

Clinical Practice Guideline for Diagnostic Testing for Adult Obstructive Sleep Apnea: An American Academy of Sleep Medicine Clinical Practice Guideline.

INTRODUCTION: This guideline establishes clinical practice recommendations for the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adults and is intended for use in conjunction with other American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) guidelines on the evaluation and treatment of sleep-disordered breathing in adults. METHODS: The AASM commissioned a task force of experts in sleep medicine. A systematic review was conducted to identify studies, and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) process was used to assess the evidence. The task force developed recommendations and assigned strengths based on the quality of evidence, the balance of benefits and harms, patient values and preferences, and resource use. In addition, the task force adopted foundational recommendations from prior guidelines as "good practice statements", that establish the basis for appropriate and effective diagnosis of OSA. The AASM Board of Directors approved the final recommendations. RECOMMENDATIONS: The following recommendations are intended as a guide for clinicians diagnosing OSA in adults. Under GRADE, a STRONG recommendation is one that clinicians should follow under most circumstances. A WEAK recommendation reflects a lower degree of certainty regarding the outcome and appropriateness of the patient-care strategy for all patients. The ultimate judgment regarding propriety of any specific care must be made by the clinician in light of the individual circumstances presented by the patient, available diagnostic tools, accessible treatment options, and resources. Good Practice Statements: Diagnostic testing for OSA should be performed in conjunction with a comprehensive sleep evaluation and adequate follow-up. Polysomnography is the standard diagnostic test for the diagnosis of OSA in adult patients in whom there is a concern for OSA based on a comprehensive sleep evaluation.Recommendations: We recommend that clinical tools, questionnaires and prediction algorithms not be used to diagnose OSA in adults, in the absence of polysomnography or home sleep apnea testing. (STRONG). We recommend that polysomnography, or home sleep apnea testing with a technically adequate device, be used for the diagnosis of OSA in uncomplicated adult patients presenting with signs and symptoms that indicate an increased risk of moderate to severe OSA. (STRONG). We recommend that if a single home sleep apnea test is negative, inconclusive, or technically inadequate, polysomnography be performed for the diagnosis of OSA. (STRONG). We recommend that polysomnography, rather than home sleep apnea testing, be used for the diagnosis of OSA in patients with significant cardiorespiratory disease, potential respiratory muscle weakness due to neuromuscular condition, awake hypoventilation or suspicion of sleep related hypoventilation, chronic opioid medication use, history of stroke or severe insomnia. (STRONG). We suggest that, if clinically appropriate, a split-night diagnostic protocol, rather than a full-night diagnostic protocol for polysomnography be used for the diagnosis of OSA. (WEAK). We suggest that when the initial polysomnogram is negative and clinical suspicion for OSA remains, a second polysomnogram be considered for the diagnosis of OSA. (WEAK).

An Economic Evaluation of Home Versus Laboratory-Based Diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: We conducted an economic analysis of the HomePAP study, a multicenter randomized clinical trial that compared home-based versus laboratory-based testing for the diagnosis and management of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). DESIGN: A cost-minimization analysis from the payer and provider perspectives was performed, given that 3-mo clinical outcomes were equivalent. SETTING: Seven academic sleep centers. PARTICIPANTS: There were 373 subjects at high risk for moderate to severe OSA. INTERVENTIONS: Subjects were randomized to either home-based limited channel portable monitoring followed by unattended autotitration with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), versus a traditional pathway of in-laboratory sleep study and CPAP titration. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: From the payer perspective, per subject costs for the laboratory-based pathway were $1,840 (95% confidence interval [CI] $1,660, $2,015) compared to $1,575 (95% CI $1,439, $1,716) for the home-based pathway under the base case. Costs were $264 (95% CI $39, $496, P = 0.02) in favor of the home arm. From the provider perspective, per subject costs for the laboratory arm were $1,697 (95% CI $1,566, $1,826) compared to $1,736 (95% CI $1,621, $1,857) in the home arm, for a difference of $40 (95% CI -$213, $142, P = 0.66) in favor of the laboratory arm under the base case. The provider operating margin was $142 (95% CI $85, $202,P < 0.01) in the laboratory arm, compared to a loss of -$161 (95% CI -$202, -$120, P < 0.01) in the home arm. CONCLUSIONS: For payers, a home-based diagnostic pathway for obstructive sleep apnea with robust patient support incurs fewer costs than a laboratory-based pathway. For providers, costs are comparable if not higher, resulting in a negative operating margin. CLINICALTRIALSGOV IDENTIFIER: NCT00642486.

Newly identified obstructive sleep apnea in hospitalized patients: analysis of an evaluation and treatment strategy.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) case finding in hospitalized patients occurs commonly. In some institutions, the wait time to polysomnography (PSG) may be long. We investigated the impact of a protocol utilizing autoadjusting continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) for early initiation of therapy in hospitalized patients suspected of having OSA. METHODS: A retrospective chart review of patients with likely OSA (oxygen desaturation index > or =10 desaturations per hour with symptoms of OSA) hospitalized between 1999 and 2004 was performed. Subjects were split into intervention and control groups. The intervention group (n=62) underwent autoadjusting CPAP titration while hospitalized and were discharged on fixed CPAP. The control group subjects (n=62) had no autoadjusting CPAP titration and were discharged without CPAP (90% on nocturnal oxygen). Both groups then had a follow-up PSG. RESULTS: The 2 groups were matched for baseline characteristics, admission diagnoses, and oximetry parameters. There were no significant differences in time to PSG or apnea-hypopnea index at PSG. In the intervention group, autoadjusting CPAP improved, but did not normalize, oximetry parameters. No significant differences were found in length of hospital stay or in number of urgent care visits, emergency department visits, or hospital readmissions pending PSG. Compared with PSG-determined CPAP pressures, autoadjusting CPAP underestimated the pressure in 60% of the intervention group, whereas 21% required bilevel positive airway pressure for optimal control. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with oxygen support or no therapy, an autoadjusting CPAP-titration protocol did not improve short-term outcomes in hospitalized patients with symptoms suggestive of OSA. Autoadjusting CPAP may underestimate optimal treatment settings.