Detection of Common Arrhythmias by the Watch-PAT: Expression of Electrical Arrhythmias by Pulse Recording.

Background: The WatchPAT (WP) device was shown to be accurate for the diagnosis of sleep apnea and is widely used worldwide as an ambulatory diagnostic tool. While it records peripheral arterial tone (PAT) and not electrocardiogram (ECG), the ability of it to detect arrhythmias is unknown and was not studied previously. Common arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation (AF) or premature beats may be uniquely presented while recording PAT/pulse wave. Purpose: To examine the potential detection of common arrhythmias by analyzing the PAT amplitude and pulse rate/volume changes. Patients and Methods: Patients with suspected sleep disordered breathing (SDB) were recruited with preference for patients with previously diagnosed AF or congestive heart failure (CHF). They underwent simultaneous WP and PSG studies in 11 sleep centers. A novel algorithm was developed to detect arrhythmias while measuring PAT and was tested on these patients. Manual scoring of ECG channel (recorded as part of the PSG) was blinded to the automatically analyzed WP data. Results: A total of 84 patients aged 57±16 (54 males) participated in this study. Their BMI was 30±5.7Kg/m2. Of them, 41 had heart failure (49%) and 17 (20%) had AF. The sensitivity and specificity of the WP to detect AF segments (of at least 60 seconds) were 0.77 and 0.99, respectively. The correlation between the WP derived detection of premature beats (events/min) to that of the PSG one was 0.98 (p<0.001). Conclusion: The novel automatic algorithm of the WP can reasonably detect AF and premature beats. We suggest that when the algorithm raises a flag for arrhythmia, the patients should shortly undergo ECG and/or Holter ECG study.

A population health approach to insomnia using internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To determine if a population health approach to insomnia using internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (ICBT-I) affects dispensed medications and provider encounters compared with usual care. METHODS: A pragmatic hybrid study design was used to evaluate both the implementation strategy and the long-term effects of ICBT-I on health care utilization in an integrated health system. Adult members with insomnia (a diagnosis or insomnia medication dispensation) or at high risk of insomnia (a diagnosis of depression or anxiety) were randomized to receive information on either an ICBT-I program (intervention arm) or in-person classes on insomnia (usual-care arm). Outcomes included dispensed insomnia medications and provider encounters over 12 months. The effectiveness of our implementation of ICBT-I on the target population was determined by an intention-to-treat analysis and by regression models comparing those who engaged in ICBT-I with matched usual-care arm controls. RESULTS: A total of 136,630 participants were randomized. Six hundred thirty-eight (0.96%) accessed the ICBT-I program while 431 (0.66%) attended 1 or more usual-care insomnia classes. Dispensed insomnia medications and provider encounters were no different in the ICBT-I arm vs the usual-care arm (intention-to-treat) or among those who engaged in ICBT-I vs matched usual-care arm controls. CONCLUSIONS: Since ICBT-I program engagement was low, additional strategies to improve engagement should be explored. ICBT-I did not result in a reduction in several measures of health care utilization; nevertheless, it offers an alternative and accessible approach to managing population insomnia. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Registry: ClinicalTrials.gov; Name: Trial of Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia in Patients Prescribed Insomnia Medications; URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03313466; Identifier: NCT03313466. CITATION: Derose SF, Rozema E, Chen A, Shen E, Hwang D, Manthena P. A population health approach to insomnia using internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(8):1675-1684.

Watch-PAT is Useful in the Diagnosis of Sleep Apnea in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation.

BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is critical. The WatchPAT (WP) device was shown to be accurate for the diagnosis of sleep apnea; however, studies using the WatchPAT device have thus far excluded patients with arrhythmias due to the potential effect of arrhythmias on the peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT) amplitude and pulse rate changes. PURPOSE: To examine the accuracy of the WP in detecting sleep apnea in patients with AF. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with AF underwent simultaneous WP and PSG studies in 11 sleep centers. PSG scoring was blinded to the automatically analyzed WP data. RESULTS: A total of 101 patients with AF (70 males) were recruited. Forty-six had AF episodes during the overnight sleep study. A significant correlation was found between the PSG-derived AHI and the WP- derived AHI (r=0.80, p<0.0001). There was a good agreement between PSG-derived AHI and WP-derived AHI (mean difference of AHI: -0.02±13.2). Using a threshold of AHI ≥15 per hour of sleep, the sensitivity and specificity of the WP were 0.88 and 0.63, respectively. The overall accuracy in sleep staging between WP and PSG was 62% with Kappa agreement of 0.42. CONCLUSION: WP can detect sleep apnea events in patients with AF. AF should not be an exclusion criterion for using the device. This finding may be of even greater importance in the era of the COVID19 epidemic, when sleep labs were closed and most studies were home based.

Detecting central sleep apnea in adult patients using WatchPAT-a multicenter validation study.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To assess the accuracy of WatchPAT (WP-Itamar-Medical, Caesarea, Israel) enhanced with a novel systolic upstroke analysis coupled with respiratory movement analysis derived from a dedicated snoring and body position (SBP) sensor, to enable automated algorithmic differentiation between central sleep apnea (CSA) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) compared with simultaneous in-lab sleep studies with polysomnography (PSG). METHODS: Eighty-four patients with suspected sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) underwent simultaneous WP and PSG studies in 11 sleep centers. PSG scoring was blinded to the automatically analyzed WP data. RESULTS: Overall WP apnea-hypopnea index (AHI; mean ± SD) was 25.2 ± 21.3 (range 0.2-101) versus PSG AHI 24.4 ± 21.2 (range 0-110) (p = 0.514), and correlation was 0.87 (p < 0.001). Using a threshold of AHI ≥ 15, the sensitivity and specificity of WP versus PSG for diagnosing sleep apnea were 85% and 70% respectively and agreement was 79% (kappa = 0.867). WP central AHI (AHIc) was 4.2 ± 7.7 (range 0-38) versus PSG AHIc 5.9 ± 11.8 (range 0-63) (p = 0.034), while correlation was 0.90 (p < 0.001). Using a threshold of AHI ≥ 15, the sensitivity and specificity of WP versus PSG for diagnosing CSA were 67% and 100% respectively with agreement of 95% (kappa = 0.774), and receiver operator characteristic (ROC) area under the curve of 0.866, (p < 0.01). Using a threshold of AHI ≥ 10 showed comparable overall sleep apnea and CSA diagnostic accuracies. CONCLUSIONS: These findings show that WP can accurately detect overall AHI and effectively differentiate between CSA and OSA.

Does Providing Positive Airway Pressure for Sleep Apnea Change Health Care Utilization?

BACKGROUND: Sleep apnea is underdiagnosed and thus undertreated. If therapy for sleep apnea results in reduced health care utilization in an entire treated population, then decision-makers will have key information for allocating limited health care resources. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether positive airway pressure (PAP) for sleep apnea was associated with reduced health care utilization in an entire treated population. RESEARCH DESIGN: This was a retrospective cohort; propensity score-matched cases and noncases; pre-post analyses of individual subject utilization. SUBJECTS: Electronic health records were used to identify adult subjects diagnosed with sleep apnea and dispensed PAP therapy (cases) and those without either diagnosed sleep apnea or dispensed PAP therapy (noncases). MEASURES: Acute care hospital days and dispensed medication days supply were compared in cases and noncases. Negative binomial regression was used to model utilization for up to 5 years before and 7 years after PAP dispensation (cases) or a random date (noncases). The association of PAP with changing annual utilization was estimated. RESULTS: There were 13,271 cases and 13,271 matched noncases from 2008 to 2012 for analyses. Trends in the annual rate of acute care utilization were no different between cases and noncases (rate ratio, 0.98, P=0.543). Trends in the annual rate of medication utilization were no different between cases and noncases (rate ratio, 1.008, P=0.112). CONCLUSIONS: PAP dispensation for sleep apnea did not appear to reduce the rate of acute care and medication utilization over several years of follow-up in a large integrated health care system.

Screening electroencephalograms are feasible in the emergency department.

We investigated the feasibility and quality of a wireless, four-channel screening electroencephalogram (EEG) device on patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with a possible seizure disorder. A convenience sample was used of ED patients presenting with a preliminary diagnosis of syncope, potential partial-complex or generalized seizure disorder, head injury with prolonged symptoms or acute undiagnosed altered mental status. Study patients had a screening EEG in the ED, but the emergency physician and patient were blinded to the results of the EEG so that neither patient care nor disposition were affected by inclusion in the study. A total of 227 patients were enrolled, with a mean age of 56 years. EEG quality was acceptable, i.e. a screening interpretation was able to be provided, in 208 of 227 cases (92%). The EEG interpretation was normal in 65%, identified generalized or focal slowing in 24% and identified sub-clinical epileptiform activity in 12% of patients. Screening EEGs performed in the ED are feasible, can be acquired with acceptable quality, and may identify sub-clinical seizure activity in a significant number of patients.

The brain's master circadian clock: implications and opportunities for therapy of sleep disorders.

The suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) residing in the anterior hypothalamus maintains a near-24-h rhythm of electrical activity, even in the absence of environmental cues. This circadian rhythm is generated by intrinsic molecular mechanisms in the neurons of the SCN; however, the circadian clock is modulated by a wide variety of influences, including glutamate and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide (PACAP) from the retinohypothalamic tract, melatonin from the pineal gland, and neuropeptide Y from the intergeniculate leaflet. By virtue of these and other inputs, the SCN responds to environmental cues such as light, social and physical activities. In turn, the SCN controls or influences a wide variety of physiologic and behavioral functions, including attention, endocrine cycles, body temperature, melatonin secretion, and the sleep-wake cycle. Regulation of the sleep-wake cycle by the SCN has important implications for development of therapies for sleep disorders, including those involving desynchronization of circadian rhythms and insomnia.

Neurobiology of circadian rhythm sleep disorders.

To adapt to a 24-hour environment, nearly all organisms, from mammals to single-celled organisms, have developed endogenous mechanisms that generate nearly 24-hour (circadian) rhythms in physiology and behavior, the most notable being that of the daily cycles of sleep and wake. Disruption of these circadian rhythms is often accompanied by disorders of sleep and wakefulness. With the recent advances in the molecular biology that underlies the development and maintenance of these rhythms, the pathophysiology behind circadian rhythm sleep disorders is becoming better understood.

Wireless brain monitoring in the emergency department.

Most hospitals in the world do not perform electroencephalograms in the emergency departments due to space, cost, training, and complexity of the equipment and the test. New miniature, low-cost, simple, digital, wireless EEG machines have been developed that solve all four of these inhibiting factors to allow EEG, to be used in emergency departments to evaluate patients presenting with altered mental status for nonconvulsive seizures. Four-channel wireless EEG used in the ED is feasible, provides good quality screening EEGs, and was able to diagnose underlying seizures or slowing in a significant number of patients.