Sleep Education: A Narrative Review on Barriers and Opportunities to Grow a Diverse Sleep Team.

The increased recognition of sleep-wake disorders and their effects, along with the anticipated shortage of sleep medicine specialists, heralds a concomitant need to have more health care providers with dedicated training in the evaluation and management of sleep disorders across the life span. A narrative review of published literature on sleep education was conducted and identified factors related to diversity within the sleep team, barriers to implementation of sleep education, and strides in sleep education. Implementation of novel sleep education strategies will require creative navigation of barriers such as allocation of curricular time, availability of teaching faculty, and funding to train more members of the sleep team. Deliberate coordination within and across health professions programs, with efforts to share resources and leverage technology, will be instrumental to guide the next phase of growth in sleep education.

Sleep Medicine Milestones 2.0: designed for our field.

NONE: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education published the first sleep medicine milestones in 2015. However, these milestones were the same among all internal medicine fellowship programs; they were not specific to the specialty. Based on stakeholder feedback, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education called for the creation of specialty-specific milestones. Herein, we outline the history of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education reporting milestones; the identification of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that define the practice of sleep medicine; and the creation of the supplemental guide and sleep medicine-specific milestones (Sleep Medicine Milestones 2.0) to assess developmental progression during fellowship training.

Optimizing virtual and distance learning during an emergency and beyond.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has forced program directors of sleep medicine fellowship programs, and other clinical training programs, to immediately transition longstanding face-to-face clinical and didactic instruction to virtual formats. The effects of this sudden transition to distance learning affect multiple aspects of training, from recruitment to patient care, scholarly activity, and well-being. Clinical educators must also understand how to consider and maintain equity while implementing distance learning strategies. METHODS: Resources were collected from multiple sites that are openly accessible to sleep medicine educators. These resources are presented within their topic domains to provide guidance on how to effectively implement distance learning strategies into a clinical training program. RESULTS: Links to helpful resources are provided for each of the following topics: virtual clinical care, didactic delivery in a virtual clinical learning environment, generating scholarship via distance learning, well-being in the setting of distance learning, virtual interviews, and equity in a virtual clinical learning environment. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical training programs, including sleep medicine fellowships, can utilize virtual and distance learning methodologies to deliver, and even enhance, currently existing curricula. The widespread adoption of distance learning strategies opens new opportunities for educational innovation and collaboration among training programs.

Obstructive sleep apnea and orthodontics: An American Association of Orthodontists White Paper.

The Board of Trustees of the American Association of Orthodontists asked a panel of medical and dental experts in sleep medicine and dental sleep medicine to create a document designed to offer guidance to practicing orthodontists on the suggested role of the specialty of orthodontics in the management of obstructive sleep apnea. This White Paper presents a summary of the Task Force's findings and recommendations.

Meeting ACGME and ABMS Quality Improvement Requirements in a Sleep Medicine Fellowship Program.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To describe a sustainable program of teaching and implementing quality improvement (QI) in a 12-month sleep medicine fellowship. METHODS: We created a QI curriculum based on Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and American Board of Medical Specialty (ABMS) Part IV Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirements for QI. Two program faculty with prior QI training volunteered to mentor fellows. Our institution's central QI office houses QI experts who teach QI across the health system. One of these experts, referred to as the "QI consultant," helped us adapt QI teaching materials to include 4 online modules and 5 group sessions. Fellows worked in teams to complete 2 data-guided QI cycles. RESULTS: The curriculum required 29 hours for fellows, 18 hours for faculty, and 55 hours for the QI consultant; now that teaching materials have been created, the QI consultant's involvement will decrease over time. Post-curriculum surveys showed that fellows' knowledge of QI concepts increased, as did their confidence performing QI activities. Fellows' QI projects objectively improved timeliness and quality of care for patients. Sleep medicine fellows and QI faculty mentors evaluated the curriculum positively. The curriculum met ACGME requirements for QI, and fellows and mentoring faculty received ABMS Part IV MOC credit upon completion of the curriculum. CONCLUSIONS: A QI curriculum can successfully be implemented into a 12-month sleep medicine fellowship to increase sleep medicine fellows' QI knowledge and confidence, meet ACGME and MOC requirements, and contribute to care of patients with sleep disorders.

Multidisciplinary Alternatives to CPAP Program for CPAP-Intolerant Patients.

ABSTRACT: Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) intolerance remains a persistent problem for many obstructive sleep apnea patients. Clinicians and researchers continue to search for other effective treatment modalities given the well-documented sequelae associated with untreated obstructive sleep apnea. A multidisciplinary "Alternatives to CPAP program" (ALT) can facilitate systematic evaluation of non-CPAP therapies appropriate for an individual patient. We review successful strategies and barriers encountered during implementation of an ALT at our institution. Creation of similar programs in private practice and academic settings can help medical, dental, and surgical sleep medicine specialists coordinate evaluation and treatment of CPAP-intolerant patients.

Treatment options for obstructive sleep apnea.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a global problem with implications for general health and quality of life, and is often encountered in patients with neurologic disease. This review outlines treatment modalities to consider for management of OSA in patients with neurologic disease. RECENT FINDINGS: New advances in positive airway pressure (PAP) devices, oral appliances, and surgical interventions offer a wide range of treatment options for patients with OSA. SUMMARY: PAP therapy remains the gold standard treatment for OSA. Other treatment modalities may be considered for OSA patients who decline or cannot tolerate PAP therapy. Some OSA patients may benefit from multimodal treatment.

Maxillomandibular Advancement Surgery for Patients Who Are Refractory to Continuous Positive Airway Pressure: Are There Predictors of Success?

PURPOSE: This pilot study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of maxillomandibular advancement (MMA) in the treatment of patients with moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The predictive value of clinical, radiographic, and treatment-related variables also was investigated in relation to the success or failure of MMA as treatment for OSA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study design was used to assess the outcomes of MMA in patients with moderate to severe OSA (apnea hypopnea index [AHI] >15 events per hour) at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI). Data collected included clinical, radiographic, and polysomnographic findings. Primary outcomes of interest included the AHI, minimal oxygen saturation, and percentage of time spent with oxygen saturation lower than 88% as measured by polysomnography. RESULTS: Twenty patients met the inclusion criteria for the study (mean age, 48.8 ± 12.3 yr). Mean body mass index decreased from 32.03 ± 5.13 kg/m2 at baseline to 29.75 ± 5.23 kg/m2 at follow-up (P = .001). Mean advancements were 13.5 ± 2.7 mm at point B and 16.1 ± 4.5 mm at the pogonion. A 4.5-fold increase in minimal cross-sectional area and a 2.2-fold increase in airway volume were achieved on average. Patients showed a 68.5% decrease in mean AHI from 49.4 to 15.6 events per hour (P < .001). The percentage of time with oxygen saturation lower than 88% was significantly decreased from 15.4% at baseline to 1.4% after surgery (P = .014). The overall surgical success rate was 55% (11 of 20) based on an AHI of fewer than 15 events per hour. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary results indicate that MMA surgery might be highly effective for select patients with moderate to severe OSA. Despite large increases in airway dimensions, a surgical success rate of 55% was achieved in the overall sample. Assessment of predictive variables for success and failure are discussed.

Disorders of Excessive Daytime Sleepiness Including Narcolepsy and Idiopathic Hypersomnia.

Central disorders of hypersomnolence are rare conditions with a poorly understood pathophysiology, making the identification and management challenging for sleep clinicians. Clinical history is essential for ruling out secondary causes of hypersomnolence and distinguishing among diagnoses. Current diagnostic criteria rely heavily on the polysomnogram and multiple sleep latency test. The current focus of treatment of hypersomnolence is on drugs that promote alertness. Additionally, in the case of narcolepsy type 1, medication management addresses control of cataplexy, the hallmark symptom of this disorder. Elucidation of pathophysiology of these disorders in the future will be essential to better categorization and management.

Sleep Tracking, Wearable Technology, and Opportunities for Research and Clinical Care.

Consumer-driven sleep-tracking technologies are becoming increasingly popular with patients with sleep disorders and the general population. As the list of sleep-tracking technologies continues to grow, clinicians and researchers are faced with new challenges and opportunities to incorporate these technologies into current practice. We review diagnostic tools used in sleep medicine clinical practice, discuss categories of consumer sleep-tracking technologies currently available, and explore the advantages and disadvantages of each. Potential uses of consumer sleep-tracking technologies to enhance sleep medicine patient care and research are also discussed.

Multidisciplinary sleep centers: strategies to improve care of sleep disorders patients.

Current emphasis on patient outcomes within sleep medicine, with a particular focus on quality improvement and contained costs, calls for sleep specialists to develop innovative models for long-term care and management of sleep disorders patients. Multidisciplinary sleep centers can facilitate highest-quality care that is timely and cost-effective. Effective resource use in a multidisciplinary sleep center can help minimize fragmentation of care, reduce effort duplication, and control costs. Proposed strategies to help achieve a balance between quality of care and cost-effectiveness include: (1) multidisciplinary specialty clinics, (2) optimized use of information technology, and (3) adoption of reliable performance measures.

Approach to and evaluation of sleep disorders.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This article provides a framework for the clinical assessment of patients with sleep-related complaints and outlines a systematic approach to a sleep-specific history and physical examination, subjective assessment tools, and diagnostic testing modalities. RECENT FINDINGS: Physical examination findings may suggest the presence of a sleep disorder, and obstructive sleep apnea in particular, but the clinical history remains the most important element of the assessment for most sleep problems. While nocturnal polysomnography in a sleep laboratory remains the gold standard for diagnosis of sleep-disordered breathing, out-of-center testing may be considered when the clinician has a high pretest suspicion for obstructive sleep apnea and the patient has no significant cardiopulmonary, neuromuscular, or other sleep disorders. SUMMARY: Sleep-related symptoms are common in adult and pediatric patients. A comprehensive sleep history, physical examination with detailed evaluation of the head and neck, and judicious use of sleep-specific questionnaires guide the decision to pursue diagnostic testing. Understanding of the benefits and limitations of various diagnostic modalities is important as the spectrum of testing options increases.

Respiratory cycle-related EEG changes: response to CPAP.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Respiratory cycle-related EEG changes (RCREC) quantify statistically significant synchrony between respiratory cycles and EEG spectral power, vary to some extent with work of breathing, and may help to predict sleepiness in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. This study was designed to assess the acute response of RCREC to relief of upper airway obstruction by positive airway pressure (PAP). DESIGN: Comparison of RCREC between baseline diagnostic polysomnograms and PAP titration studies. SETTING: Accredited academic sleep disorders center. PATIENTS: Fifty adults referred for suspected sleep disordered breathing. INTERVENTIONS: For each recording, the RCREC in specific physiologic EEG frequency ranges were computed as previously described for the last 3 h of sleep not occupied by apneic events. RESULTS: The sample included 27 women; mean age was 47 ± 11 (SD) years; and median respiratory disturbance index at baseline was 24 (inter-quartile range 15-43). Decrements in RCREC, from baseline to PAP titration, reached 43%, 24%, 14%, 22%, and 31% for delta (P = 0.0004), theta (P = 0.01), alpha (P = 0.10), sigma (P = 0.08), and beta (P = 0.01) EEG frequency ranges, respectively. Within each specific sleep stage, these reductions from baseline to PAP studies in synchrony between EEG power and respiratory cycles still reached significance (P < 0.05) for one or more EEG frequency ranges and for all frequency ranges during REM sleep. CONCLUSIONS: RCREC tends to diminish acutely with alleviation of upper airway obstruction by PAP. These data in combination with previous observations support the hypothesis that RCREC reflect numerous, subtle, brief, but consequential inspiratory microarousals.