[Treatment of supine position-related obstructive sleep apnea with smartphone applications]. / Therapie rückenlagebezogener obstruktiver Schlafapnoe mittels Smartphone-App.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Positional obstructive sleep apnea (POSA) is common in mild and moderate forms of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Two smartphone applications (apps) professing to avoid the supine position (SP) are available for Android the "Apnea Sleep Position Trainer" and for iOS the "SomnoPose-Sleep Position Monitor". The smartphone needs to be attached to the chest to recognize SP, which then triggers a vibration alarm. This is intended to encourage the patient to change position and the vibration stops as soon as SP is left. These apps, however, have not yet undergone a systematic evaluation. METHODS: Adult patients with polysomnographically diagnosed POSA were invited to participate in the study. POSA was defined as an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) in SP >10, with AHI in a lateral position <10 and doubling of the AHI in SP. After 1 month, a control polysomnography (PSG) was performed and compliance (at least 4 h/night on 5 of 7 days) was evaluated after 6 months by phone. A sufficient therapy was defined as reduction in SP to <10% of the total sleep time and to an overall AHI <10. RESULTS: Although 57 patients entered the study, 24 did not appear to the PSG control; therefore, 33 patients finished the study, of whom 25 were treated successfully. The overall AHI in 33 patients was reduced from 14.5 ± 9.0 to 9.5 ± 12.6 and the time in SP decreased significantly from 71.1 ± 50.5 to 25.4 ± 65.0 min. Compliance among the 25 continuously treated patients after 6 months was 79.2%. CONCLUSION: Both smartphone apps have the capability to prevent PS in POSA patients and can potentially offer a cost-effective option in the treatment of POSA.