Auto positive airway pressure therapy reduces pulmonary pressures in adults admitted for acute heart failure with pulmonary hypertension and obstructive sleep apnea. The ASAP-HF Pilot Trial.

OBJECTIVES: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is extremely common in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) patients and predicts increased mortality. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), highly prevalent in congestive heart failure patients, may contribute to further elevated pulmonary pressures. This study evaluates the impact of positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy on PH in patients admitted for ADHF with OSA. METHODS: A two-center randomized control trial comparing standard of care (SOC) therapy for ADHF versus addition of PAP therapy in patients with concomitant OSA. RESULTS: Twenty-one consecutive patients were enrolled with 1:1 randomization to SOC versus SOC plus 48-hour PAP therapy protocol. In the intervention arm, the mean pulmonary artery systolic pressure (PASP) difference before therapy and after 48 hours of PAP therapy was -15.8 ± 3.2 (58.6 ± 2.5 mm Hg to 42.8 ± 2.7) versus the SOC arm where the mean PASP difference was -5.2 ± 2.6 (62.7 ± 3.3 mm Hg reduced to 57.5 ± 3.9) (p = 0.025). In addition, ejection fraction in the intervention arm improved (3.4 ± 1.5% versus -0.5 ± 0.5 %) (p = 0.01). Significant improvement was also noted in tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE) and right ventricular systolic area in the intervention arm but not in NT-pro-BNP or 6-minute walk distance. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with ADHF and OSA, addition of 48 hours of PAP therapy to SOC treatment significantly reduced PH. In addition, PAP therapy was able to improve right and left ventricular function. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02963597.

Sleep Overnight Monitoring for Apnea in Patients Hospitalized with Heart Failure (SOMA-HF Study).

INTRODUCTION: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is highly prevalent in hospitalized patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) and the condition is diagnosed and treated in only a minority of these patients. Portable monitoring (PM) is a screening option, but due to costs and the expertise required, many hospitals may find it impractical to implement. We sought to test the utility of an alternative approach for screening hospitalized CHF patients for SDB, high-resolution pulse oximetry (HRPO). METHODS: We conducted a prospective controlled trial of 125 consecutive patients admitted to the hospital with CHF. Simultaneous PM and HRPO for a single night was performed. All but one patient were monitored on breathing room air. The HRPO-derived ODI (oxygen desaturation index) was compared with PM-derived respiratory event index (REI) using both receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and a Bland-Altman plot. RESULTS: Of 105 consecutive CHF patients with analyzable data, 61 (58%) were males with mean age of 64.9 ± 15.1 years and mean body mass index of 30.3 ± 8.3 kg/m2. Of the 105 patients, 10 (9.5%) had predominantly central sleep apnea (central events > 50% of the total events), although central events were noted in 42 (40%) of the patients. The ROC analysis showed an area under the curve of 0.89 for REI > 5 events/h. The Bland-Altman plot showed acceptable agreement with 95% limits of agreement between -28.5 to 33.7 events/h and little bias. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that high-resolution pulse oximetry is a simple and cost-effective screening tool for SDB in CHF patients admitted to the hospital. Such screening approaches may be valuable for large-scale implementation and for the optimal design of interventional trials.

Physician failure to stratify patients hospitalized with acute pulmonary embolism.

OBJECTIVES: In 2011, the AHA recommended risk stratification of patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE). Failure to risk stratify may cause under recognition of intermediate-risk PE and its attendant short- and long-term consequences. We sought to determine if patients hospitalized with acute PE were appropriately risk stratified according to the 2011 AHA Scientific Statement within our hospital system and whether differences exist in adherence to risk stratification by hospital or treating hospital service. We also wished to know the frequency of in-hospital consultations for acute PE which might assist in the risk stratification process. METHODS: This is a retrospective chart audit of all patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of acute PE between January 2011 and December 2013 at our 937-bed metropolitan, three hospital system comprised of academic University, neuroscience Specialty, and teaching Community hospitals. We evaluated the presence of imaging, laboratory tests, and specialty consultation within 72 h of PE diagnosis by hospital. RESULTS: 701 patients with acute PE were admitted to our hospital system during the study period. 308 patients (43.9%) met criteria for intermediate-risk PE. 347 patients (49.5%) were considered 'Low-Risk - At Risk', patients defined in a low-risk category not having undergone all recommended risk stratification testing and so truly may have been in a higher risk category. No specialty consultations were utilized for 265 patients (37.8%). CONCLUSIONS: Our large metropolitan hospital system inadequately risk stratifies hospitalized patients with acute PE. Because nearly one-half of patients with acute PE did not have all recommended testing, clinicians may be under recognizing patients with intermediate-risk PE and their risk for long-term morbidity. Specialty consultations were underutilized and may help guide medical decision-making.

Recognition and Treatment of Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Obese Hospitalized Patients May Improve Survival. The HoSMed Database.

PURPOSE: Sleep-disordered breathing is a common sleep disorder. Recent studies have shown that hospitalized obese patients have a high likelihood of unrecognized sleep-disordered breathing. However, no systematic large study has so far evaluated the outcomes of a screening program. This study provides demographic, clinical, and outcome data from a screening program at a tertiary care academic center. METHODS: Subjects were 5062 patients screened from March 2013 to July 2016. Of these, 1410 underwent in-hospital overnight high-resolution pulse oximetry and 680 underwent polysomnography post discharge. Patients placed on positive airway therapy were followed in an ambulatory setting. RESULTS: The mean age was 60.7 years (SD 15.2), and mean body mass index was 34.8 kg/m2 (SD 8.3), with 2477 (49.0%) males. Of the 1410 high-risk patients who underwent high-resolution plethysmography (HRPO), 1092 were sleep-disordered breathing positive (oxygen desaturation index [ODI] ≥5) and 680 high-risk patients underwent polysomnography. In this latter group, 585 (87%) were found to have sleep-disordered breathing (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI] >5). A receiver operating characteristic curve for ODI derived from HRPO plotted against AHI from polysomnography showed an area under the curve of 0.83 for an ODI of >5. Patients who were adherent to positive airway pressure therapy in the first 3 months had improved survival over a mean follow-up of 609 days compared with those who were nonadherent (P = .01). CONCLUSION: This large database of hospitalized patients confirms a high prevalence of undetected sleep-disordered breathing. Long-term follow-up of those compliant with treatment reveals a survival benefit.

Adherence to Positive Airway Pressure Therapy in Hospitalized Patients with Decompensated Heart Failure and Sleep-Disordered Breathing.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) has been implicated as a risk factor for the development of several adverse cardiovascular outcomes, but can be mitigated with positive airway pressure therapy (PAP). The nonadherence of patients with SDB on PAP in the outpatient setting ranges from 29% to 84%. However, adherence of PAP in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) admitted for decompensated CHF and in whom SDB has been diagnosed in the hospital setting is not known. We hypothesized that despite a diagnosis in the hospital, the compliance of these patients with PAP therapy would not be different from the well-established adherence in patients with a diagnosis and treatment in the outpatient setting. METHODS: The study was a retrospective analysis of patients admitted to an academic tertiary care hospital between March 2013 and February 2014. Patients presenting with decompensated CHF were screened and high-risk patients were started on PAP empirically and advised to undergo a postdischarge polysomnogram. Compliance of the patients with PAP was tracked for over 12 mo. Data from a similar outpatient group who underwent polysomnography during the study period were also reviewed. RESULTS: Ninety-one patients underwent polysomnograhy postdischarge. Of the 91 patients, 81 patients agreed to PAP therapy. One patient was excluded as data were missing. The adherence at 3, 6, and 12 mo was 52%, 37%, and 27%, which was not significantly different than an outpatient control group. There was a trend for those with CHF plus SDB and compliant with PAP to have a higher probability of survival compared to those who were noncompliant (p = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS: Adherence of patients to PAP therapy in whom a SDB diagnosis is made during acute hospitalization for heart failure is comparable to patients in the ambulatory setting. Adherence in first 3 mo is a predictive marker for improved survival trend.