Evaluating the feasibility of implementing a Telesleep pilot program using two-tiered external facilitation.

BACKGROUND: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can negatively impact patients' health status and outcomes. Positive airway pressure (PAP) reverses airway obstruction and may reduce the risk of adverse outcomes. Remote monitoring of PAP (as opposed to in-person visits) may improve access to sleep medicine services. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of implementing a clinical program that delivers treatment for OSA through PAP remote monitoring using external facilitation as an implementation strategy. METHODS: Participants included patients with OSA at a Veteran Affairs Medical Center (VAMC). PAP adherence and clinical disease severity on treatment (measured by the apnea hypopnea index [AHI]) were the preliminary effectiveness outcomes across two delivery models: usual care (in-person) and Telehealth nurse-delivered remote monitoring. We also assessed visit duration and travel distance. A prospective, mixed-methods evaluation examined the two-tiered external facilitation implementation strategy. RESULTS: The pilot project included N = 52 usual care patients and N = 38 Telehealth nurse-delivered remote monitoring patients. PAP adherence and disease severity were similar across the delivery modalities. However, remote monitoring visits were 50% shorter than in-person visits and saved a mean of 72 miles of travel (median = 45.6, SD = 59.0, mode = 17.8, range 5.4-220). A total of 62 interviews were conducted during implementation with a purposive sample of 12 clinical staff involved in program implementation. Weekly external facilitation delivered to both front-line staff and supervisory physicians was necessary to ensure patient enrollment and treatment. Synchronized, "two-tiered" facilitation at the executive and coordinator levels proved crucial to developing the clinical and administrative infrastructure to support a PAP remote monitoring program and to overcome implementation barriers. CONCLUSIONS: Remote PAP monitoring had similar efficacy to in-person PAP services in this Veteran population. Although external facilitation is a widely-recognized implementation strategy in quality improvement projects, less is known about how multiple facilitators work together to help implement complex programs. Two-tiered facilitation offers a model well-suited to programs where innovations span disciplines, disrupt professional hierarchies (such as those between service chiefs, clinicians, and technicians) and bring together providers who do not know each other, yet must collaborate to improve access to care.

Frequency, time course, and possible causes of right ventricular systolic dysfunction after cardiac transplantation: a single center experience.

BACKGROUND: The frequency and causes of right ventricular (RV) systolic dysfunction early after cardiac transplantation are not well defined. METHODS: We investigated the prevalence and causes of RV dysfunction in 27 heart transplant recipients, as measured by lateral tricuspid annular plane excursion (TAPSE) and fractional area change (FAC) at a mean of 15 ± 11 days after transplant. Tissue Doppler imaging was used to assess systolic time velocity integral (TVI) of the RV basal free wall. A subset of 22 patients had follow-up TAPSE measurement at 406 ± 121 days. RESULTS: RV systolic dysfunction, defined as TAPSE > 2 standard deviation (SD) below values in a control group, was present in 100% (27/27) of patients (P < 0.05). FAC was also significantly lower in patients compared with controls (P < 0.0001). TVI confirmed the presence of RV dysfunction in all 16 patients with both TAPSE and TVI (P < 0.05). Ischemic time (P = 0.017) and posttransplant tricuspid regurgitation (P = 0.024) were independent predictors of early RV dysfunction (r = 0.753). On follow-up, RV function improved in 15 of 22 patients but all patients remained with TAPSE > 2 SD below controls. CONCLUSION: This study showed that 100% of patients had reduced RV function early after transplant. Two thirds of patients had partial recovery of RV function during the first year. In all patients, however, RV function remained significantly lower than in controls.

Benefit of adjunctive transoral neuromuscular electrical stimulation with positive airway pressure therapy: a case report.

Combination positive airway pressure therapy and daytime transoral neuromuscular electrical stimulation in the treatment of sleep apnea has not been reported in the literature. We present a case of a patient with poorly controlled sleep apnea despite bilevel positive airway pressure. Adjunctive therapy with daytime neuromuscular electrical stimulation resulted in dramatic reduction of the apnea-hypopnea index with significant improvement in patient's symptoms. CITATION: Stahl SM, Lenet A, Sigua NL. Benefit of adjunctive transoral neuromuscular electrical stimulation with positive airway pressure therapy: a case report. J Clin Sleep Med. 2023;19(11):1971-1974.