Undiagnosed sleep apnea is highly prevalent among hospital patients, and treating it after they’re discharged can improve their chances of long-term survival. This is according to a ResMed-funded study published in the American Journal of Medicine.
The study screened more than 5,000 hospitalized patients; 18.7% were estimated to have sleep apnea. Those who tested positive for sleep apnea were placed on positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy post-discharge. Patients who were adherent to therapy in the first 3 months had an improved chance of survival over the next 20 months, compared with those not adherent on PAP.
“We have a profound opportunity to identify and help tens of thousands of hospitalized patients who don’t know they have a dangerous but treatable sleep condition,” says Sunil Sharma, MD, the study’s principal investigator, in a release. “These results show just how important a hospital can be in addressing these issues.”
ResMed chief medical officer Carlos M. Nunez, MD, says, “Up to 70 million Americans have sleep apnea, and only a fraction are diagnosed. When a medical condition brings them to a hospital, it’s a prime opportunity to see if they also have sleep apnea, which they can then address—and potentially live longer for doing so.”
With millions still undiagnosed, shouldn’t sleep apnea be a part of annual physical or better yet, a bigger part of all medical programs/curriculum so as to integrate the knowledge of sleep from the getgo for all doctors? Same goes for PAs,NPs, and RNs.
The hospital setting is ideal for screening. Patients are in a place where they are monitored anyhow, so the additional overhead of monitoring for Sleep Apnea is less than going to a specialized sleep facility.
Also, the patients are there anyhow!
While I agree in practice and by personal observation about undiagnosed OSA, I am always suspicious of studies funded by companies that provide the services/tools for those diagnoses.
I believe that any medical professional (MD, PA, NP, DO) should be able to refer to a Sleep Center for suspected OSA. If the testing is positive then the patient should be referred to a Sleep Specialist for management.