Functional outcome and treatment adherence in patients evaluated according to a home testing algorithm is not clinically inferior to that in patients receiving standard in-laboratory polysomnography.

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The prevalence of OSA in all patients considered for bariatric surgery was greater than 77%, irrespective of OSA symptoms, gender, menopausal status, age, or BMI. The prediction model that we developed for the presence of OSA (AHI ≥ 5 events per hour) has excellent discriminative ability (evidenced by an AUC value of 0.8). However, the negative prediction values for the presence of OSA were too low to be clinically useful due to the high prevalence of OSA in this high-risk group. We demonstrated that, by utilizing even the most stringent possible cutoff values for the prediction model, OSA cannot be predicted with enough certainty. Therefore, we advocate routine PSG testing for all patients that are considered for bariatric surgery.

Summary This study aimed to identify pre-treatment and immediate early treatment factors predicting continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) use during the first week of therapy, when the pattern of non-adherence is established. Four domains of potential predictors were examined: pre-treatment demographic and clinical factors, patients’ perceived self-efficacy, treatment delivery (mask leak and bothering side effects), and immediate disease reduction (residual respiratory events and flow limitation). The Autoset™ Clinical System objectively documented daily CPAP use, mask leak, residual respiratory events, and flow limitation. Ninety-one CPAP-naïve patients with newly diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea were followed for 1 week after treatment initiation. Mean CPAP daily use during the first week was 3.4 ± 2.7 hours, with significantly lower use observed in Black than non-Black participants (2.7 vs. 4.4 hours, respectively, p= 0.002). Less intimacy with partners caused by CPAP was the only treatment side effect correlated with CPAP use (r= -0.300, p=0.025). Reduced CPAP use during the first week was simultaneously associated with being Black, higher residual apnea-hypopnea index, and the treatment side effect of less intimacy with partners. The three factors together accounted for 25.4% of the variance in the CPAP use (R2=0.254, p<0.01). These data suggest the need to assess the impact of CPAP on intimacy and troubleshoot aspects of the treatment that interfere with sexual relationships. Assessing the presence of residual respiratory events may be important in promoting CPAP adherence. The association of race and CPAP use needs to be further explored by including more socioeconomic information.

We attempted to validate a two-stage strategy to screen for severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (s-OSAS) among hypertensive outpatients, with polysomnography (PSG) as the gold standard. Using a prospective design, we recruited outpatients with hypertension from medical outpatient clinics. Interventions included: 1) assessment of clinical data; 2) home sleep testing (HST); and 3) 12-channnel, in-laboratory PSG. We developed models using clinical or HST data alone (single-stage models) or clinical data in tandem with HST (two-stage models) to predict s-OSAS. For each model, we computed area-under-receiver-operating-characteristic curves (AUC), sensitivity, specificity, negative likelihood ratio, and negative post-test probability (NPTP). Models were then rank-ordered based upon AUC values and NPTP. HST used alone had limited accuracy (AUC=0.727, ,NPTP = 2.9%). However, models that used clinical data in tandem with HST were more accurate in identifying s-OSAS, with lower NPTP: 1) facial morphometrics (AUC=0.816, NPTP=0.6%); 2) neck circumference (AUC=0.803, NPTP=1.7%); and Multivariable Apnea Prediction Score (AUC = 0.799, NPTP =1.5%) where sensitivity, specificity and NPTP were evaluated at optimal thresholds. Therefore, HST combined with clinical data can be useful in identifying s-OSAS in hypertensive outpatients, without incurring greater cost and patient burden associated with in-laboratory PSG. These models were less useful in identifying OSAS of any severity.

Objectives: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common and treatable among the elderly. Yet, few older adults seek evaluation for OSA at sleep disorders centers. The authors assessed the feasibility of a two-stage screening procedure for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in a community-based sample of older adults. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Participants' domicile (in-home) and academic sleep research center. Participants: There were 452 Medicare recipients residing in the greater Philadelphia metropolitan area with the complaint of daytime sleepiness. Interventions: None. Measurements and Results: All participants underwent in-home unattended sleep studies that recorded airflow, and standard in-laboratory polysomnography. Additional measures included symptoms of sleep apnea, body mass index, neck circumference, age, and sex. When comparing diagnostic approaches, the best-performing single-stage model was one that combined apnea symptoms with age and neck circumference. This model had an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.774 and negative posttest probability of 1.2%. The best-performing two-stage model combined symptoms, neck circumference, age, and sex in the first stage, followed by an unattended portable study with a corresponding AUC of 0.85 and negative posttest probability of 0.5%. Conclusions: Unattended, self-assembled, in-home sleep studies recording airflow and respiratory effort are most useful if applied in tandem with clinical data, including a carefully obtained sleep history. This two-stage model is accurate in identifying severe OSAS in older adults and represents a practical diagnostic approach for older adults. Incorporating clinical data was vital and increased accuracy well above that of unattended studies of airflow and effort alone.

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