A Bayesian cost-effectiveness analysis of a telemedicine-based strategy for the management of sleep apnoea: a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Compliance with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is essential in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), but adequate control is not always possible. This is clinically important because CPAP can reverse the morbidity and mortality associated with OSA. Telemedicine, with support provided via a web platform and video conferences, could represent a cost-effective alternative to standard care management. AIM: To assess the telemedicine impact on treatment compliance, cost-effectiveness and improvement in quality of life (QoL) when compared with traditional face-to-face follow-up. METHODS: A randomised controlled trial was performed to compare a telemedicine-based CPAP follow-up strategy with standard face-to-face management. Consecutive OSA patients requiring CPAP treatment, with sufficient internet skills and who agreed to participate, were enrolled. They were followed-up at 1, 3 and 6 months and answered surveys about sleep, CPAP side effects and lifestyle. We compared CPAP compliance, cost-effectiveness and QoL between the beginning and the end of the study. A Bayesian cost-effectiveness analysis with non-informative priors was performed. RESULTS: We randomised 139 patients. At 6 months, we found similar levels of CPAP compliance, and improved daytime sleepiness, QoL, side effects and degree of satisfaction in both groups. Despite requiring more visits, the telemedicine group was more cost-effective: costs were lower and differences in effectiveness were not relevant. CONCLUSIONS: A telemedicine-based strategy for the follow-up of CPAP treatment in patients with OSA was as effective as standard hospital-based care in terms of CPAP compliance and symptom improvement, with comparable side effects and satisfaction rates. The telemedicine-based strategy had lower total costs due to savings on transport and less lost productivity (indirect costs). TRIAL REGISTER NUMBER: NCT01716676.

Management of sleep apnea without high pretest probability or with comorbidities by three nights of portable sleep monitoring.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) diagnosis using simplified methods such as portable sleep monitoring (PM) is only recommended in patients with a high pretest probability. The aim is to determine the diagnostic efficacy, consequent therapeutic decision-making, and costs of OSA diagnosis using polysomnography (PSG) versus three consecutive studies of PM in patients with mild to moderate suspicion of sleep apnea or with comorbidity that can mask OSA symptoms. DESIGN AND SETTING: Randomized, blinded, crossover study of 3 nights of PM (3N-PM) versus PSG. The diagnostic efficacy was evaluated with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Therapeutic decisions to assess concordance between the two different approaches were performed by sleep physicians and respiratory physicians (staff and residents) using agreement level and kappa coefficient. The costs of each diagnostic strategy were considered. PATIENTS AND RESULTS: Fifty-six patients were selected. Epworth Sleepiness Scale was 10.1 (5.3) points. Bland-Altman plot for apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) showed good agreement. ROC curves showed the best area under the curve in patients with PSG AHI ≥ 5 [0.955 (confidence interval = 0.862-0.993)]. For a PSG AHI ≥ 5, a PM AHI of 5 would effectively exclude and confirm OSA diagnosis. For a PSG AHI ≥ 15, a PM AHI ≥ 22 would confirm and PM AHI < 7 would exclude OSA. The best agreement of therapeutic decisions was achieved by the sleep medicine specialists (81.8%). The best cost-diagnostic efficacy was obtained by the 3N-PM. CONCLUSIONS: Three consecutive nights of portable monitoring at home evaluated by a qualified sleep specialist is useful for the management of patients without high pretest probability of obstructive sleep apnea or with comorbidities. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov, registration number: NCT01820156. CITATION: Guerrero A, Embid C, Isetta V, Farre R, Duran-Cantolla J, Parra O, Barbé F, Montserrat JM, Masa JF. Management of sleep apnea without high pretest probability or with comorbidities by three nights of portable sleep monitoring.