scholarly journals Wait Times for Sleep Apnea Care in Ontario: A Multidisciplinary Assessment

2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 170-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian W Rotenberg ◽  
Charles F George ◽  
Kevin M Sullivan ◽  
Eric Wong

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a highly prevalent disorder that is associated with significant patient morbidity and societal burden. In general, wait times for health care in Ontario are believed to be lengthy; however, many diseases lack specific corroborative wait time data.OBJECTIVE: To characterize wait times for OSA care in Ontario.METHODS: Cross-sectional survey. A survey tool was designed and validated to question physicians involved in OSA care about the length of the wait times their patients experience while traversing a simplified model of OSA care. The survey was sent to all otolaryngologists and respirologists in the province, as well as to a random sample of provincial family physicians.RESULTS: Patients waited a mean of 11.6 months to initiate medical therapy (continuous positive airway pressure), and 16.2 months to initiate surgical therapy. Sleep laboratory availability appeared to be the major restriction in the patient management continuum, with each additional sleep laboratory in a community associated with a 20% decrease in overall wait times. Smaller community sizes were paradoxically associated with shorter wait times for sleep studies (P<0.01) but longer wait times for OSA surgery (P<0.05). Regression analysis yielded an r2of 0.046; less than 5% of the wait time variance could be explained by the simplified model.CONCLUSION: Patients experienced considerable wait times when undergoing management for OSA. This has implications for both individual patient care and public health in general.

Lung ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 197 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo L. M. Duarte ◽  
Marcelo F. Rabahi ◽  
Tiago S. Oliveira-e-Sá ◽  
Flavio J. Magalhães-da-Silveira ◽  
Fernanda C. Q. Mello ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 39-45
Author(s):  
Komal Atta ◽  
Raza Ahmad ◽  
Ayesha Nawaz ◽  
Iqra Ishtiaq ◽  
Muhammad Farooq

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) leads to multiple complications which may be life-threatening. In this study we determined the frequency of obese individuals at high risk for developing (OSA). METHODOLOGY: It was a cross-sectional survey. The study was conducted in the Medicine department of Services hospital, Lahore from February 6, 2016 to August 5, 2016. A sample size of 300 healthy obese individuals (BMI ≥ 30kg/m2) aged between 18-60 years who were accompanying a patient or visiting someone admitted, were enrolled in our study. Informed Verbal consent was obtained before administering a structured, validated questionnaire to the significant obese population; Survey was translated into Urdu for ease. The data were stratified for age, gender and BMI of the patients to control the effect modifiers. Post-stratification Chi-square test was used. A p-value ≤ 0.05 was taken as significant. RESULTS: A total of 300 subjects were enrolled. Mean age was calculated as 41.81±11.98 years, while 161(53.7%) individuals were females and 139(46.3%) were males. The frequency of risk of OSA was low in 241(80.3%) and high in 59(19.7%) of the population. The relationships of OSA with age groups and BMI were insignificant with p-value being 0.867 and 0.790 respectively. CONCLUSION: In this study, a significant population of male obese individuals was found to be at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea.


Author(s):  
J. Cousineau ◽  
A.-S. Prévost ◽  
M.-C. Battista ◽  
M. Gervais

Abstract Background Obstructive sleep apnea frequently persists in children following adenotonsillectomy, which is the first-line treatment recommended for obstructive sleep apnea with adenotonsillar hypertrophy. Drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) is a diagnostic tool increasingly used to assess pediatric obstructive sleep apnea, but its use has not been standardized. The overarching goal of this study was to document the current practice of Canadian otolaryngologists managing this population. Methods A nation-wide online cross-sectional survey of Canadian otolaryngologist members of the Canadian Society of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and the Association d’otorhinolaryngologie et chirurgie cervico-faciale du Québec. The 58-question electronic survey was developed based on a validated survey redaction guide with the aim to assess management and treatment of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea, as well as indications and performance of DISE. Consensus on practice items was defined by a minimum of 75% similar answers. Results One hundred and nine Canadian otolaryngologists completed the survey on management of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea, among which 12 of them completed the questions on DISE. Overall, there was a poor rate of agreement of 55% among the respondents for the 58 questions altogether. There was a consensus to assess pediatric obstructive sleep apnea clinically ± with videos (82.6%), to assess adenotonsillar hypertrophy clinically (93.6%) and with flexible scope in the office (80.7%), as well as for the airway sites examined endoscopically during DISE. However, there was no consensus regarding anesthetic protocol and scoring system. DISE was mostly performed in cases of persistent obstructive sleep apnea after adenotonsillectomy rather than before performing any surgical procedure. There was no difference in the management of obstructive sleep apnea between otolaryngologists who perform DISE and those who do not. The only difference between otolaryngologists who practice in community centers versus in tertiary care centers was the more frequently use of the Brodsky tonsil scale by the latter ones. Conclusion This Canadian-wide survey highlighted a lack of consensus in the management of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea and DISE. Certain aspects regarding DISE remain unclear, including establishment of its ideal timing in order to eventually avoid unnecessary tonsillectomies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 1123-1132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo L. M. Duarte ◽  
Fernanda C. Q. Mello ◽  
Flavio J. Magalhães-da-Silveira ◽  
Tiago S. Oliveira-e-Sá ◽  
Marcelo F. Rabahi ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 100011
Author(s):  
Jakob Grauslund ◽  
Lonny Stokholm ◽  
Anne S. Thykjær ◽  
Sören Möller ◽  
Caroline S. Laugesen ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Ingo Fietze ◽  
Sebastian Herberger ◽  
Gina Wewer ◽  
Holger Woehrle ◽  
Katharina Lederer ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose Diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea are traditionally performed in sleep laboratories with polysomnography (PSG) and are associated with significant waiting times for patients and high cost. We investigated if initiation of auto-titrating CPAP (APAP) treatment at home in patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and subsequent telemonitoring by a homecare provider would be non-inferior to in-lab management with diagnostic PSG, subsequent in-lab APAP initiation, and standard follow-up regarding compliance and disease-specific quality of life. Methods This randomized, open-label, single-center study was conducted in Germany. Screening occurred between December 2013 and November 2015. Eligible patients with moderate-to-severe OSA documented by polygraphy (PG) were randomized to home management or standard care. All patients were managed by certified sleep physicians. The home management group received APAP therapy at home, followed by telemonitoring. The control group received a diagnostic PSG, followed by therapy initiation in the sleep laboratory. The primary endpoint was therapy compliance, measured as average APAP usage after 6 months. Results The intention-to-treat population (ITT) included 224 patients (110 home therapy, 114 controls); the per-protocol population (PP) included 182 patients with 6-month device usage data (89 home therapy, 93 controls). In the PP analysis, mean APAP usage at 6 months was not different in the home therapy and control groups (4.38 ± 2.04 vs. 4.32 ± 2.28, p = 0.845). The pre-specified non-inferiority margin (NIM) of 0.3 h/day was not achieved (p = 0.130); statistical significance was achieved in a post hoc analysis when NIM was set at 0.5 h/day (p < 0.05). Time to APAP initiation was significantly shorter in the home therapy group (7.6 ± 7.2 vs. 46.1 ± 23.8 days; p < 0.0001). Conclusion Use of a home-based telemonitoring strategy for initiation of APAP in selected patients with OSA managed by sleep physicians is feasible, appears to be non-inferior to standard sleep laboratory procedures, and facilitates faster access to therapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasmine L. Wong ◽  
Fernando Martinez ◽  
Andrea P. Aguila ◽  
Amrita Pal ◽  
Ravi S. Aysola ◽  
...  

AbstractPeople with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) often have psychological symptoms including depression and anxiety, which are commonly treated with anti-depression or anti-anxiety interventions. Psychological stress is a related symptom with different intervention targets that may also improve mental state, but this symptom is not well characterized in OSA. We therefore aimed to describe stress in relation to other psychological symptoms. We performed a prospective cross-sectional study of 103 people, 44 untreated OSA (mean ± s.d. age: 51.2 ± 13.9 years, female/male 13/31) and 57 healthy control participants (age: 46.3 ± 13.8 years, female/male 34/23). We measured stress (Perceived Stress Scale; PSS), excessive daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale; ESS), depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire; PHQ-9), and anxiety symptoms (General Anxiety Disorder; GAD-7). We compared group means with independent samples t-tests and calculated correlations between variables. Mean symptom levels were higher in OSA than control, including PSS (mean ± s.d.: OSA = 15.3 ± 6.9, control = 11.4 ± 5.5; P = 0.002), GAD-7 (OSA = 4.8 ± 5.0, control = 2.1 ± 3.9; P = 0.02), PHQ-9 (OSA = 6.9 ± 6.1, control = 2.6 ± 3.8; P = 0.003) and ESS (OSA = 8.1 ± 5.3, control = 5.0 ± 3.3; P = 0.03). Similar OSA-vs-control differences appeared in males, but females only showed significant differences in PHQ-9 and ESS, not PSS or GAD-7. PSS correlated strongly with GAD-7 and PHQ-9 across groups (R = 0.62–0.89), and moderately with ESS. Perceived stress is high in OSA, and closely related to anxiety and depressive symptoms. The findings support testing stress reduction in OSA.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. e048860
Author(s):  
Valerie Moran ◽  
Marc Suhrcke ◽  
Maria Ruiz-Castell ◽  
Jessica Barré ◽  
Laetitia Huiart

ObjectivesWe investigate the prevalence of unmet need arising from wait times, distance/transportation and financial affordability using the European Health Interview Survey. We explore associations between individual characteristics and the probability of reporting unmet need.DesignCross-sectional survey conducted between February and December 2014.Setting and participants4004 members of the resident population in private households registered with the health insurance fund in Luxembourg aged 15 years and over.Outcome measuresSix binary variables that measured unmet need arising from wait time, distance/transportation and affordability of medical, dental and mental healthcare and prescribed medicines among those who reported a need for care.ResultsThe most common barrier to access arose from wait times (32%) and the least common from distance/transportation (4%). Dental care (12%) was most often reported as unaffordable, followed by prescribed medicines (6%), medical (5%) and mental health (5%) care. Respondents who reported bad/very bad health were associated with a higher risk of unmet need compared with those with good/very good health (wait: OR 2.41, 95% CI 1.53 to 3.80, distance/transportation: OR 7.12, 95% CI 2.91 to 17.44, afford medical care: OR 5.35, 95% CI 2.39 to 11.95, afford dental care: OR 3.26, 95% CI 1.86 to 5.71, afford prescribed medicines: OR 2.22, 95% CI 1.04 to 4.71, afford mental healthcare: OR 3.58, 95% CI 1.25 to 10.30). Income between the fourth and fifth quintiles was associated with a lower risk of unmet need for dental care (OR 0.29, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.53), prescribed medicines (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.82) and mental healthcare (OR 0.17, 95% CI 0.05 to 0.61) compared with income between the first and second quintiles.ConclusionsRecent and planned reforms to address waiting times and financial barriers to accessing healthcare may help to address unmet need. In addition, policy-makers should consider additional policies targeted at high-risk groups with poor health and low incomes.


SLEEP ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 44 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. A240-A240
Author(s):  
Nisha Patel ◽  
Timothy Morgenthaler ◽  
Julie Baughn

Abstract Introduction Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects 50–79% of children with Down Syndrome (CDS) prompting the development of guidelines to increase early detection of OSA. Cross-sectional survey based data shows that CDS have higher rates of bedtime resistance, sleep anxiety, night waking and parasomnias, which are also under-recognized. However, due to increased survival of CDS it may be that OSA treated in childhood returns or worsens, or that CDS may develop other sleep disorders as their life experience and exposure to comorbidities expands. Little is known about sleep disorders across the life span of CDS and screening guidelines leave a gap beyond early childhood. We determined to enhance understanding of respiratory and non-respiratory sleep disorders in a community population of CDS. Methods A retrospective population based observational study of CDS born between 1995–2011 was performed using the Rochester Epidemiology Project database. Medical records from all encounters through July 2020 were reviewed to identify sleep disorders. Sleep diagnoses, sleep test results, and treatments aimed at sleep disorders were recorded. Results 94 CDS were identified with 85 providing consent for research. 54 out of 85 individuals were diagnosed with OSA with 26 diagnosed prior to age 4 and 25 undergoing polysomnography prior to treatment. 26 individuals underwent polysomnography following surgery of which 16 continued to have clinically significant OSA requiring further treatment with secondary surgery, CPAP or anti-inflammatory therapy. Other sleep disorders observed included insomnia (n=16), restless leg syndrome (n=7), periodic limb movement disorder (n=10), idiopathic hypersomnia (n=1), nightmares (n=1), nocturnal enuresis (n=1), bruxism (n=1) and delayed sleep phase disorder (n=1). Most non-OSA sleep disorders were diagnosed during OSA evaluation by sleep medicine providers. However, many children were on melatonin without a formal sleep disorder diagnosis. Conclusion Both OSA and other sleep disorders remain under-diagnosed in CDS. This may be due to lack of validated screening tools that can be administered at the primary care level. Screening recommendations should consider the longitudinal nature of OSA in CDS and the presence of non-respiratory sleep disorders. Adenotonsillectomy is not as effective in CDS and postsurgical polysomnography is warranted along with long term follow-up to assess for further treatment needs. Support (if any):


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