Daylight saving time: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine position statement

None

The last several years have seen intense debate about the issue of transitioning between standard and daylight saving time. In the United States, the annual advance to daylight saving time in spring, and fall back to standard time in autumn, is required by law (although some exceptions are allowed under the statute). An abundance of accumulated evidence indicates that the acute transition from standard time to daylight saving time incurs significant public health and safety risks, including increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events, mood disorders, and motor vehicle crashes. Although chronic effects of remaining in daylight saving time year-round have not been well studied, daylight saving time is less aligned with human circadian biology-which, due to the impacts of the delayed natural light/dark cycle on human activity, could result in circadian misalignment, which has been associated in some studies with increased cardiovascular disease risk, metabolic syndrome and other health risks. It is, therefore, the position of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine that these seasonal time changes should be abolished in favor of a fixed, national, year-round standard time.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep medicine practices

STUDY OBJECTIVES

The COVID-19 pandemic required sleep centers to consider and implement infection control strategies to mitigate viral transmission to patients and staff. Our aim was to assess measures taken by sleep centers due to the COVID-19 pandemic and plans surrounding reinstatement of sleep services.

METHODS

We distributed an anonymous online survey to health care providers in sleep medicine on April 29, 2020. From responders, we identified a subset of unique centers by region and demographic variables.

RESULTS

We obtained 379 individual responses, which represented 297 unique centers. A total of 93.6% of unique centers reported stopping all or nearly all sleep testing of at least one type, without significant differences between adult and pediatric labs, geographic region, or surrounding population density. By contrast, a greater proportion of respondents continued home sleep apnea testing services. A total of 60.3% reduced home sleep apnea testing volume by at least 90%, compared to 90.4% that reduced in-laboratory testing by at least 90%. Respondents acknowledged that they implemented a wide variety of mitigation strategies. While no respondents reported virtual visits to be ≥ 25% of clinical visits prior to the pandemic, more than half (51.9%) anticipated maintaining ≥ 25% virtual visits after the pandemic.

CONCLUSIONS

Among surveyed sleep centers, the vast majority reported near-cessation of in-laboratory sleep studies, while a smaller proportion reported reductions in home sleep apnea tests. A large increase in the use of telemedicine was reported, with the majority of respondents expecting the use of telehealth to endure in the future.

Sleep, fatigue and burnout among physicians: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine position statement

None

Physician burnout is a serious and growing threat to the medical profession and may undermine efforts to maintain a sufficient physician workforce to care for the growing and aging patient population in the United States. Burnout involves a host of complex underlying associations and potential for risk. While prevalence is unknown, recent estimates of physician burnout are quite high, approaching 50% or more, with midcareer physicians at highest risk. Sleep deprivation due to shift-work schedules, high workload, long hours, sleep interruptions, and insufficient recovery sleep have been implicated in the genesis and perpetuation of burnout. Maladaptive attitudes regarding sleep and endurance also may increase the risk for sleep deprivation among attending physicians. While duty-hour restrictions have been instituted to protect sleep opportunity among trainees, virtually no such effort has been made for attending physicians who have completed their training or practicing physicians in nonacademic settings. It is the position of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine that a critical need exists to evaluate the roles of sleep disruption, sleep deprivation, and circadian misalignment in physician well-being and burnout. Such evaluation may pave the way for the development of effective countermeasures that promote healthy sleep, with the goal of reducing burnout and its negative impacts such as a shrinking physician workforce, poor physician health and functional outcomes, lower quality of care, and compromised patient safety.

Emerging drugs for insomnia: new frontiers for old and novel targets

BACKGROUND

Insomnia is the most prevalent sleep disorder, with up to 50% of the US adult population reporting symptoms of insomnia on a weekly basis and approximately 12% with insomnia disorder. Comorbid conditions such as depression and anxiety are frequent. Insomnia is more common with older age, female gender and socioeconomic status. Traditionally, therapy has focused on GABA(A) receptor agonists, and off-label antidepressant and antihistamine use.

OBJECTIVE

With increased understanding of complex neural networks involved in sleep and wake, hypnotics are being developed to target a broader variety of receptors with increasing selectivity. This review summarizes promising compounds in Phase II and III trials with evidence supporting efficacy for treatment of insomnia.

METHODS

5-HT(2A) and 5-HT(2C) antagonists, melatonergic (MT1/MT2) agonists, orexin receptor (OX1/OX2) antagonists, as well as GABA(A) receptor agonists are reviewed and summarized. Data are collected from PubMed and Pharmaprojects database searches, company websites, recent scientific meeting presentations and abstracts.

RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS

A variety of drugs targeting several pathways, including GABA(A) agonism, MT1/MT2 agonism, 5-HT(2A) antagonism, OX1/OX2 antagonism and others, are in Phase II and III trials. More work should be done to understand the impact of these drugs in certain populations and in the context of comorbid conditions.

Insomnia pharmacology

Insomnia is not only the most common sleep disorder in the population, it is a frequent complaint heard overall by primary care physicians and specialists alike. Given the high prevalence of this disorder, its tendency to persist, and the frequency with which patients complain of symptoms in practice, it is imperative to have an understanding of basic sleep-wake mechanisms and the evolving field of pharmacologic approaches to enhance sleep. Currently, pharmacologic approaches are among the most widely used therapies for insomnia. This article reviews sleep-wake mechanisms, the neuroanatomic targets for sleep and wake-promoting agents, and discusses currently used agents to promote sleep and investigational hypnotics.

Biliprotein in adult icteric serum--demonstrated by extension of the alkaline methanolysis procedure

We confirmed that the alkaline methanolysis procedure of Blanckaert (Biochem. J. 185: 115-128, 1980) converts the sugar conjugates of bilirubin (Bc) into their corresponding methyl and dimethyl esters, which can be extracted into chloroform along with underivatized unconjugated bilirubin (Bu). By this procedure, we accounted for Bu nearly quantitatively, but only 76-83% of total Bc. By pretreating samples containing Bu and (or) Bc with a caffeine/benzoate reagent, we improved the analytical recovery of Bc to 85-93% without affecting the Bu. When the method (+ caffeine/benzoate) was applied to adult icteric serum, a variable fraction (20-75%) of the original total bilirubin (based on diazo reactivity) remained with the protein pellet, which is routinely discarded in the original methanolysis procedure. In this pellet we demonstrated the occurrence of a strongly protein-bonded bilirubin fraction (biliprotein) similar to the recently described "delta" fraction (Clin. Chem. 28: 629-637, 1982). The analytical and clinical implications of our findings are discussed.

What is the role of sleep in physician burnout?

None

The occurrence of physician burnout is widespread among clinicians and academic faculty, who report indicators such as low quality of life and poor work-life balance. Chronic insufficient sleep, whether due to extended work hours, circadian misalignment, or unrecognized sleep disorders, is a critically important risk factor for burnout that is overlooked and under-studied, and interventions to promote healthy sleep may reduce burnout susceptibility among attending physicians. While strategies to reduce burnout among resident and attending physicians have been under-evaluated, evidence suggests a need to address burnout at both individual and organizational levels. Solutions have been offered that are applicable to many stakeholders, including employers; payers; licensing and certification boards; state and federal regulatory agencies; and physicians and researchers. As more studies are undertaken to evaluate how these approaches impact burnout, two questions need to be addressed: (1) What is the role of sleep in the crisis of burnout, specifically among attendings, who are particularly under-studied? (2) Is restoration of healthy sleep the fundamental mechanism by which burnout interventions work? It is essential for key stakeholders to consider the role of sleep, sleepiness, and sleep disorders in order to optimize any efforts to mitigate the present crisis in physician burnout, particularly among attending physicians, an understudied group.

The potential for impact of man-made super low and extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields on sleep

An ever-growing number of electromagnetic (EM) emission sources elicits health concerns, particularly stemming from the ubiquitous low to extremely low frequency fields from power lines and appliances, and the radiofrequency fields emitted from telecommunication devices. In this article we review the state of knowledge regarding possible impacts of electromagnetic fields on melatonin secretion and on sleep structure and the electroencephalogram of humans. Most of the studies on the effects of melatonin on humans have been conducted in the presence of EM fields, focusing on the effects of occupational or residential exposures. While some of the earlier studies indicated that EM fields may have a suppressive effect on melatonin, the results cannot be generalized because of the large variability in exposure conditions and other factors that may influence melatonin. For instance, exposure to radiofrequency EM fields on sleep architecture show little or no effect. However, a number of studies show that pulsating radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, such as those emitted from cellular phones, can alter brain physiology, increasing the electroencephalogram power in selective bands when administered immediately prior to or during sleep. Additional research is necessary that would include older populations and evaluate the interactions of EM fields in different frequency ranges to examine their effects on sleep in humans.

Sleep medicine exposure offered by United States residency training programs

STUDY OBJECTIVES

To understand the sleep medicine educational exposure among parent specialties of sleep medicine fellowships, we conducted an online survey among Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education-approved training programs.

METHODS

Target respondents were program directors of family medicine, otolaryngology, psychiatry, neurology, pediatrics, and pulmonary and critical care training programs in the United States. The survey was based on the Sleep Education Survey, a peer-reviewed, published survey created by the American Academy of Neurology Sleep Section. The modified 18-question survey was emailed via Survey Monkey per published methods totaling 3 requests approximately 1 week apart in January 2017.

RESULTS

A total of 1228 programs were contacted, and 479 responses were received for an overall response rate of 39%. Some programs in every specialty group offered a sleep medicine elective or a required rotation to trainees. Pulmonary and critical care and neurology reported the highest percentages of sleep medicine rotation as an option for housestaff (85.7% and 90.8%, respectively), and pulmonary and critical care had the highest portion of programs indicating a rotation requirement (75.4%). Teaching format was a mixture of didactic lectures, sleep center/laboratory exposure, and case reports, with lectures being the most common format. Didactics averaged 4.75 h/y. Few programs reported trainees subsequently pursuing sleep medicine fellowship (<10% produced a fellow over 5 years), and even fewer reported having a trainee who pursued grant funding for sleep-related research over 5 years.

CONCLUSIONS

There is wide variability and overall low exposure to sleep medicine education among United States "parent" Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education training programs whose medical boards offer sleep medicine certification.

Emerging drugs for common conditions of sleepiness: obstructive sleep apnea and narcolepsy

INTRODUCTION

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and narcolepsy are sleep disorders associated with high prevalence and high symptomatic burden including prominent sleepiness, daytime dysfunction and poor nocturnal sleep. Both have elevated risk of poor health outcomes. Current therapies are often underutilized, cumbersome, costly or associated with residual symptoms.

AREAS COVERED

This review covers current available therapies for OSA and narcolepsy as well as discusses areas for potential drug development, and agents in the therapeutic pipeline, including the cannabinoid dronabinol (OSA), the histamine inverse agonist/ antagonist pitolisant (narcolepsy), and stimulants with uncertain and/or multiple activities such as JZP-110 and JZP-386 (narcolepsy, possibly OSA). Finally it addresses new approaches and uses for therapies currently on the market such as the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor acetazolamide (OSA).

EXPERT OPINION

Both OSA and narcolepsy are conditions of sleepiness for which lifelong treatments are likely to be required. In OSA, while continuous positive airway pressure will likely remain the gold standard therapy for the foreseeable future, there is plenty of room for integrating phenotypes and variants of OSA into therapeutic strategies to lead to better, more personalized disease modification. In narcolepsy, unlike OSA, drug therapy is the current mainstay of treatment. Advances using novel mechanisms to treat targeted symptoms such as sleepiness and/or novel agents that can treat more than one symptom of narcolepsy, hold promise. However, cost, convenience and side effects remain challenges.

Sleep-Disordered Breathing, Orofacial Growth, and Prevention of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Abnormal breathing during sleep is related to intrinsic and extrinsic factors that are present early in life. Investigation of fetal development and early-in-life orofacial growth allows recognition of risk factors that lead to change in upper airway patency, which leads to abnormal upper airway resistance, abnormal inspiratory efforts, and further increase in resistance and progressive narrowing of the collapsible upper airway. Such evolution can be recognized by appropriate clinical evaluation, specific polysomnographic patterns, and orofacial imaging. Recognition of the problems should lead to appropriate treatments and prevention of obstructive sleep apnea and its comorbidities.

Current treatment of selected pediatric sleep disorders

While pediatric sleep disorders are relatively common, treatments are often not straightforward. There is often a paucity of gold standard studies and data available to guide clinicians, treatments may yield arguably incomplete results, interventions may require chronic use, and/ or involve multiple modalities including behavioral interventions that require high parental and family commitment. This review points out diagnostic differences compared to adults and focuses on current therapy for selected common pediatric sleep disorders including sleep disordered breathing/ obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy, and restless legs syndrome. Other common pediatric sleep disorders, such as insomnia and parasomnias, are not covered.

Assessment of Patient Journey Metrics for Users of a Digital Obstructive Sleep Apnea Program: Single-Arm Feasibility Pilot Study

Background

Despite the importance of diagnosis and treatment, obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) remains a vastly underdiagnosed condition; this is partially due to current OSA identification methods and a complex and fragmented diagnostic pathway.

Objective

This prospective, single-arm, multistate feasibility pilot study aimed to understand the journey in a nonreferred sample of participants through the fully remote OSA screening and diagnostic and treatment pathway, using the Primasun Sleep Apnea Program (formally, Verily Sleep Apnea Program).

Methods

Participants were recruited online from North Carolina and Texas to participate in the study entirely virtually. Eligible participants were invited to schedule a video telemedicine appointment with a board-certified sleep physician who could order a home sleep apnea test (HSAT) to be delivered to the participant's home. The results were interpreted by the sleep physician and communicated to the participant during a second video telemedicine appointment. The participants who were diagnosed with OSA during the study and prescribed a positive airway pressure (PAP) device were instructed to download an app that provides educational and support-related content and access to personalized coaching support during the study’s 90-day PAP usage period. Surveys were deployed throughout the study to assess baseline characteristics, prior knowledge of sleep apnea, and satisfaction with the program.

Results

For the 157 individuals who were ordered an HSAT, it took a mean of 7.4 (SD 2.6) days and median 7.1 days (IQR 2.0) to receive their HSAT after they completed their first televisit appointment. For the 114 individuals who were diagnosed with OSA, it took a mean of 13.9 (SD 9.6) days and median 11.7 days (IQR 10.1) from receiving their HSAT to being diagnosed with OSA during their follow-up televisit appointment. Overall, the mean and median time from the first televisit appointment to receiving an OSA diagnosis was 21.4 (SD 9.6) days and 18.9 days (IQR 9.2), respectively. For those who were prescribed PAP therapy, it took a mean of 8.1 (SD 9.3) days and median 6.0 days (IQR 4.0) from OSA diagnosis to PAP therapy initiation.

Conclusions

These results demonstrate the possibility of a highly efficient, patient-centered pathway for OSA workup and treatment. Such findings support pathways that could increase access to care, reduce loss to follow-up, and reduce health burden and overall cost. The program’s ability to efficiently diagnose patients who otherwise may have not been diagnosed with OSA is important, especially during a pandemic, as the United States shifted to remote care models and may sustain this direction. The potential economic and clinical impact of the program’s short and efficient journey time and low attrition rate should be further examined in future analyses. Future research also should examine how a fast and positive diagnosis experience impacts success rates for PAP therapy initiation and adherence.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04599803; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04599803

The OSA patient journey: pathways for diagnosis and treatment among commercially insured individuals in the United States

STUDY OBJECTIVES

The aims of this study were to characterize obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) care pathways among commercially insured individuals in the United States and to investigate between-groups differences in population, care delivery, and economic aspects.

METHODS

We identified adults with OSA using a large, national administrative claims database (January 1, 2016-February 28, 2020). Inclusion criteria included a diagnostic sleep test on or within ≤ 12 months of OSA diagnosis (index date) and 12 months of continuous enrollment before and after the index date. Exclusion criteria included prior OSA treatment or central sleep apnea. OSA care pathways were identified using sleep testing health care procedural health care common procedure coding system/current procedural terminology codes then selected for analysis if they were experienced by ≥ 3% of the population and assessed for baseline demographic/clinical characteristics that were also used for model adjustment. Primary outcome was positive airway pressure initiation rate; secondary outcomes were time from first sleep test to initiation of positive airway pressure, sleep test costs, and health care resource utilization. Associations between pathway type and time to treatment initiation were assessed using generalized linear models.

RESULTS

Of 86,827 adults with OSA, 92.1% received care in 1 of 5 care pathways that met criteria: home sleep apnea testing (HSAT; 30.8%), polysomnography (PSG; 23.6%), PSG-Titration (19.8%), Split-night (14.8%), and HSAT-Titration (3.2%). Pathways had significantly different demographic and clinical characteristics. HSAT-Titration had the highest positive airway pressure initiation rate (84.6%) and PSG the lowest (34.4%). After adjustments, time to treatment initiation was significantly associated with pathway (P < .0001); Split-night had shortest duration (median, 28 days), followed by HSAT (36), PSG (37), PSG-Titration (58), and HSAT-Titration (75). HSAT had the lowest sleep test costs and health care resource utilization.

CONCLUSIONS

Distinct OSA care pathways exist and are associated with differences in population, care delivery, and economic aspects.

CITATION

Wickwire EM, Zhang X, Munson SH, et al. The OSA patient journey: pathways for diagnosis and treatment among commercially insured individuals in the United States. J Clin Sleep Med. 2024;20(4):505-514.

Exhaled air dispersion and use of oronasal masks with continuous positive airway pressure during COVID-19

We applaud Ferioliet al. [1] for their review of practical measures that can be taken to help protect healthcare workers from severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 infection. We urge caution in interpreting data from table 1, which lists maximum air dispersion distance with a variety of oxygen administration and ventilatory support strategies. Reporting that continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) via oronasal mask at 20 cmH₂O has negligible air dispersion is potentially misleading. Much of the data from this table is derived from a series of studies by Hui and co-workers [2–5], in which a human patient simulator was used to model exhaled air dispersion with a variety of supportive devices. With this model, the group measured exhaled air dispersion using a laser to detect particles in distinct zones; the median and paramedian sagittal planes, i.e. directly in front of the simulator. To measure dispersion while wearing CPAP, they measured a specific oronasal mask (Quattro Air, ResMed Inc.), which contains exhaust vent holes that are evenly distributed circularly around the elbow connection point of the air tubing. Thus, exhaled air exits the mask in a continuous, circumferential flow. It is unsurprising that no distinct air jet could be measured in the median sagittal plane (i.e. in the midline, in front of the patient) since airflow is: 1) diverted diffusely (rather than a directed jet); and 2) circumferential (more laterally) with this mask design. The authors noted that the circumferential nature of the exhaust holes was the likely reason that they could not measure an exhaled jet.

Caution is advised regarding the recently published conclusion that use of oronasal masks with CPAP has negligible room contamination via exhaled air dispersion of SARS-CoV-2 viral particleshttps://bit.ly/39cC4m8

Screening for Sleepiness and Sleep Disorders in Commercial Drivers

Sleep disorders in commercial drivers are common and treatable. Left unidentified, they lead to a host of adverse consequences, including daytime sleepiness, adverse health effects, economic costs, and public safety risks owing to sleepiness-related crashes. The best studied of these is obstructive sleep apnea, which is common and identifiable among commercial drivers. This article provides an overview of screening, and specific approaches to screen for and manage obstructive sleep apnea in commercial drivers with the goal of reducing the risk of vehicular crashes.