Role of Psychologists in Pediatric Sleep Medicine.

Sleep disorders commonly afflict infants, children, and adolescents and have a significant adverse impact on them and their families, sometimes to a severe degree. They can cause immediate stress and suffering and long-term loss of opportunities and potential. Many of these disorders can be well managed by the psychologist and often one is required, either as the sole provider or as an integral part of a team. Sleep disorders have a bidirectional interplay with mental health disorders. The patient may therefore present initially to the psychologist, primary care provider, or the sleep medicine specialist.

Upper Airway Stimulation for Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Durability of the Treatment Effect at 18 Months.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the stability of improvement in polysomnographic measures of sleep disordered breathing, patient reported outcomes, the durability of hypoglossal nerve recruitment and safety at 18 months in the Stimulation Treatment for Apnea Reduction (STAR) trial participants. DESIGN: Prospective multicenter single group trial with participants serving as their own controls. SETTING: Twenty-two community and academic sleep medicine and otolaryngology practices. MEASUREMENTS: Primary outcome measures were the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and the 4% oxygen desaturation index (ODI). Secondary outcome measures were the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ), and oxygen saturation percent time < 90% during sleep. Stimulation level for each participant was collected at three predefined thresholds during awake testing. Procedure- and/or device-related adverse events were reviewed and coded by the Clinical Events Committee. RESULTS: The median AHI was reduced by 67.4% from the baseline of 29.3 to 9.7/h at 18 mo. The median ODI was reduced by 67.5% from 25.4 to 8.6/h at 18 mo. The FOSQ and ESS improved significantly at 18 mo compared to baseline values. The functional threshold was unchanged from baseline at 18 mo. Two participants experienced a serious device-related adverse event requiring neurostimulator repositioning and fixation. No tongue weakness reported at 18 mo. CONCLUSION: Upper airway stimulation via the hypoglossal nerve maintained a durable effect of improving airway stability during sleep and improved patient reported outcomes (Epworth Sleepiness Scale and Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire) without an increase of the stimulation thresholds or tongue injury at 18 mo of follow-up.

Detection of upper airway status and respiratory events by a current generation positive airway pressure device.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To compare a positive airway pressure (PAP) device's detection of respiratory events and airway status during device-detected apneas with events scored on simultaneous polysomnography (PSG). DESIGN: Prospective PSGs of patients with sleep apnea using a new-generation PAP device. SETTINGS: Four clinical and academic sleep centers. PATIENTS: Forty-five patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and complex sleep apnea (Comp SA) performed a PSG on PAP levels adjusted to induce respiratory events. INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: PAP device data identifying the type of respiratory event and whether the airway during a device-detected apnea was open or obstructed were compared to time-synced, manually scored respiratory events on simultaneous PSG recording. Intraclass correlation coefficients between device-detected and PSG scored events were 0.854 for apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), 0.783 for apnea index, 0.252 for hypopnea index, and 0.098 for respiratory event-related arousals index. At a device AHI (AHIFlow) of 10 events/h, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.98, with sensitivity 0.92 and specificity 0.84. AHIFlow tended to overestimate AHI on PSG at values less than 10 events/h. The device detected that the airway was obstructed in 87.4% of manually scored obstructive apneas. Of the device-detected apneas with clear airway, a minority (15.8%) were manually scored as obstructive apneas. CONCLUSIONS: A device-detected apnea-hypopnea index (AHIFlow) < 10 events/h on a positive airway pressure device is strong evidence of good treatment efficacy. Device-detected airway status agrees closely with the presumed airway status during polysomnography scored events, but should not be equated with a specific type of respiratory event.

Upper-airway stimulation for obstructive sleep apnea.

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea is associated with considerable health risks. Although continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) can mitigate these risks, effectiveness can be reduced by inadequate adherence to treatment. We evaluated the clinical safety and effectiveness of upper-airway stimulation at 12 months for the treatment of moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea. METHODS: Using a multicenter, prospective, single-group, cohort design, we surgically implanted an upper-airway stimulation device in patients with obstructive sleep apnea who had difficulty either accepting or adhering to CPAP therapy. The primary outcome measures were the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI; the number of apnea or hypopnea events per hour, with a score of ≥15 indicating moderate-to-severe apnea) and the oxygen desaturation index (ODI; the number of times per hour of sleep that the blood oxygen level drops by ≥4 percentage points from baseline). Secondary outcome measures were the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ), and the percentage of sleep time with the oxygen saturation less than 90%. Consecutive participants with a response were included in a randomized, controlled therapy-withdrawal trial. RESULTS: The study included 126 participants; 83% were men. The mean age was 54.5 years, and the mean body-mass index (the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters) was 28.4. The median AHI score at 12 months decreased 68%, from 29.3 events per hour to 9.0 events per hour (P<0.001); the ODI score decreased 70%, from 25.4 events per hour to 7.4 events per hour (P<0.001). Secondary outcome measures showed a reduction in the effects of sleep apnea and improved quality of life. In the randomized phase, the mean AHI score did not differ significantly from the 12-month score in the nonrandomized phase among the 23 participants in the therapy-maintenance group (8.9 and 7.2 events per hour, respectively); the AHI score was significantly higher (indicating more severe apnea) among the 23 participants in the therapy-withdrawal group (25.8 vs. 7.6 events per hour, P<0.001). The ODI results followed a similar pattern. The rate of procedure-related serious adverse events was less than 2%. CONCLUSIONS: In this uncontrolled cohort study, upper-airway stimulation led to significant improvements in objective and subjective measurements of the severity of obstructive sleep apnea. (Funded by Inspire Medical Systems; STAR ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01161420.).

The performance of two automatic servo-ventilation devices in the treatment of central sleep apnea.

INTRODUCTION: This study was conducted to evaluate the therapeutic performance of a new auto Servo Ventilation device (Philips Respironics autoSV Advanced) for the treatment of complex central sleep apnea (CompSA). The features of autoSV Advanced include an automatic expiratory pressure (EPAP) adjustment, an advanced algorithm for distinguishing open versus obstructed airway apnea, a modified auto backup rate which is proportional to subject's baseline breathing rate, and a variable inspiratory support. Our primary aim was to compare the performance of the advanced servo-ventilator (BiPAP autoSV Advanced) with conventional servo-ventilator (BiPAP autoSV) in treating central sleep apnea (CSA). STUDY DESIGN: A prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial. SETTING: Five sleep laboratories in the United States. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-seven participants were included. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: All subjects had full night polysomnography (PSG) followed by a second night continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) titration. All had a central apnea index ≥ 5 per hour of sleep on CPAP. Subjects were randomly assigned to 2 full-night PSGs while treated with either the previously marketed autoSV, or the new autoSV Advanced device. The 2 randomized sleep studies were blindly scored centrally. Across the 4 nights (PSG, CPAP, autoSV, and autoSV Advanced), the mean ± 1 SD apnea hypopnea indices were 53 ± 23, 35 ± 20, 10 ± 10, and 6 ± 6, respectively; indices for CSA were 16 ± 19, 19 ± 18, 3 ± 4, and 0.6 ± 1. AutoSV Advanced was more effective than other modes in correcting sleep related breathing disorders. CONCLUSIONS: BiPAP autoSV Advanced was more effective than conventional BiPAP autoSV in the treatment of sleep disordered breathing in patients with CSA.

Pediatric insomnia: a behavioral approach.

This article discusses the two common causes of insomnia in children, behavioral insomnia of childhood and delayed sleep phase syndrome. Both of these conditions are primarily treated with behavioral interventions that can be initiated and managed by the primary care provider. A review of these behavioral interventions is provided.