Guidelines of the French Society of ENT (SFORL): Drug-induced sleep endoscopy in adult obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the indications, anesthesiological and surgical procedure and interest of drug-induced sleep endoscopy in the treatment of adult obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. DESIGN: A redactional committee of 17 experts was set up. Conflicts of interest were disclosed and followed up throughout the process of drawing up the guidelines. The work received no funding from any firm dealing in health products (drugs or devices). The GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) method was applied to assess the quality of the data on which the guidelines were founded. It was stressed that strong recommendations should not be made on the basis of poor-quality or insufficient data. METHODS: The committee studied 29 questions on 5 topics: indications and contraindications, anesthetic technique, surgical technique, interpretation and reporting of results, and management guided by results. RESULTS: Expert review and application of the GRADE method led to 30 guidelines: 10 with high level of evidence (Grade 1+ or 1-), 19 with low level (GRADE 2+ or 2-) and 1 expert opinion. CONCLUSION: Experts fully agreed on the strong guidelines formalizing the indications and modalities of drug-induced sleep endoscopy for adult obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.

Treatment of sleep apnea by ENT specialists during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The treatment of sleep disorders has been strongly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. When the lockdown is over, resumption of usual patient care will require precautions to limit the risk of contamination for patients and caregivers. In this document, the French Association of Otorhinolaryngology and Sleep disorders (AFSORL) and the French Society of Otorhinolaryngology (SFORL) put forward a summary of the measures for continuing the treatment of sleep apnoea syndrome in these new practice conditions. Emphasis is placed on teleconsultation, methods of nocturnal sleep studies, the conditions for treatment by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) ventilation, and the postponement of more invasive treatments.