Technique and Preliminary Analysis of Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy With Online Polygraphic Cardiorespiratory Monitoring in Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome.

Importance: Drug-induced sleep endoscopy is a diagnostic technique that allows dynamic evaluation of the upper airway during artificial sleep. The lack of a standardized procedure and the difficulties associated with direct visual detection of obstructive events result in poor intraobserver and interobserver reliability, especially when otolaryngology surgeons not experienced in the technique are involved. Objectives: To describe a drug-induced sleep endoscopy technique implemented with simultaneous polygraphic monitoring of cardiorespiratory parameters (DISE-PG) in patients with a diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and discuss the technique's possible advantages compared with the standard procedure. Design, Setting, and Participants: This prospective cohort study included 50 consecutive patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome who underwent DISE-PG from March 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014. A standard protocol was adopted, and all the procedures were carried out in an operation room by an experienced otolaryngology surgeon under the supervision of an anesthesiologist. Endoscopic and polygraphic obstructive respiratory events were analyzed offline in a double-blind setting and randomized order. Main Outcomes and Measures: The feasibility and safety of the DISE-PG technique, as well as its sensitivity in detecting respiratory events compared with that of the standard drug-induced sleep endoscopy procedure. Results: All 50 patients (43 men and 7 women; mean [SD] age, 51.1 [12.1] years) underwent DISE-PG without technical problems or patient difficulties regarding the procedure. As expected, polygraphic scoring was more sensitive than endoscopic scoring in identifying obstructive events (mean [SD] total events, 13.3 [6.8] vs 5.3 [3.6]; mean [SD] difference, 8.8 [5.6]; 95% CI, 7.3 to 10.4; Cohen d, -1.5). This difference was most pronounced in patients with a higher apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) at baseline (mean [SD] difference for AHI >30, 27.1% [31.0%]; 95% CI, -36.2% to 90.4%; Cohen d, 0.2; for AH I >40, 76.0% [35.5%]; 95% CI, 4.6% to 147.4%; Cohen d, 0.5; for AHI >50, 92.2% [37.2%]; 95% CI, 17.3% to 167.1%; Cohen d, 0.6) and a high percentage of hypopneas (≥75% of all obstructive events) at baseline (mean [SD] difference, 20.2% [5.4%]; 95% CI, 9.2% to 31.3%; Cohen d, 1.1). No other anthropomorphic or polygraphic features at baseline were associated with the differences between the DISE-PG and baseline home sleep apnea test. Conclusions and Relevance: The DISE-PG technique is feasible, safe, and more sensitive at detecting an obstructed breathing pattern than is drug-induced sleep endoscopy alone. The DISE-PG technique could be helpful for accurate comprehension of upper airway obstructive dynamics (ie, degree of obstruction and multilevel pattern) and a nonobstructive breathing pattern (ie, central apneas).

Pre-Operative, High-IL-6 Blood Level is a Risk Factor of Post-Operative Delirium Onset in Old Patients.

BACKGROUND: Post-operative delirium (POD) is a common complication in elderly patients undergoing surgery, but the underpinning causes are not clear. We hypothesized that inflammaging, the subclinical low and chronic grade inflammation characteristic of old people, can contribute to POD onset. Accordingly, we investigated the association of pre-operative and circulating cytokines in elderly patients (>65 years), admitted for elective and emergency surgery. METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of a sub-cohort of patients belonging to a previous large case-control study, where 351 patients were clinically and cognitively thoroughly characterized, together with the assessment of POD (47 patients) by confusion assessment method and delirium rating scale. Seventy-four pre-operative plasma samples were selected from a larger bio-bank and they included 37 subjects with POD and 37 without POD. Inflammaging related cytokines, i.e., IL-1ß, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and TNF-α, were assayed by ELISA in pre-operative blood samples; univariate and multivariable analyses have been applied to identify cytokines independently associated to POD. Associations of cytokine levels with functional status, cognitive decline, intra-hospital mortality, and comorbidity were also analyzed independently of POD onset. RESULTS: High IL-6 and low-IL-2 levels were significantly associated with POD. After adjustment for potential confounders in multivariate analysis, high level of pre-operative IL-6 was confirmed to be significantly associated with risk of POD onset. High level of IL-6 was also associated with several baseline features (including poor functional status, cognitive impairment, emergency admission, and higher comorbidity burden) and intra-hospital mortality. CONCLUSION: Pre-operative, high-plasma level of IL-6 (≥9 pg/mL) was significantly associated with POD onset. We propose IL-6 as an additional risk factor of POD onset together with the previously identified factors. Discovery of all risk factors contributing to POD onset will permit to improve hospitalized patient management and the decrease of healthcare cost.