| 1. |
- Alonderis, A, et al.
(författare)
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Medico-legal implications of sleep apnoea syndrome: Driving license regulations in Europe.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Sleep medicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 1389-9457 .- 1878-5506. ; 9:4, s. 362-75
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Sleep apnoea syndrome (SAS), one of the main medical causes of excessive daytime sleepiness, has been shown to be a risk factor for traffic accidents. Treating SAS results in a normalized rate of traffic accidents. As part of the COST Action B-26, we looked at driving license regulations, and especially at its medical aspects in the European region. METHODS: We obtained data from Transport Authorities in 25 countries (Austria, AT; Belgium, BE; Czech Republic, CZ; Denmark, DK; Estonia, EE; Finland, FI; France, FR; Germany, DE; Greece, GR; Hungary, HU; Ireland, IE; Italy, IT; Lithuania, LT; Luxembourg, LU; Malta, MT; Netherlands, NL; Norway, EC; Poland, PL; Portugal, PT; Slovakia, SK; Slovenia, SI; Spain, ES; Sweden, SE; Switzerland, CH; United Kingdom, UK). RESULTS: Driving license regulations date from 1997 onwards. Excessive daytime sleepiness is mentioned in nine, whereas sleep apnoea syndrome is mentioned in 10 countries. A patient with untreated sleep apnoea is always considered unfit to drive. To recover the driving capacity, seven countries rely on a physician's medical certificate based on symptom control and compliance with therapy, whereas in two countries it is up to the patient to decide (on his doctor's advice) to drive again. Only FR requires a normalized electroencephalography (EEG)-based Maintenance of Wakefulness Test for professional drivers. Rare conditions (e.g., narcolepsy) are considered a driving safety risk more frequently than sleep apnoea syndrome. CONCLUSION: Despite the available scientific evidence, most countries in Europe do not include sleep apnoea syndrome or excessive daytime sleepiness among the specific medical conditions to be considered when judging whether or not a person is fit to drive. A unified European Directive seems desirable.
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| 2. |
- Fietze, I, et al.
(författare)
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Management of obstructive sleep apnea in Europe
- 2011
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Ingår i: Sleep Medicine. - : Elsevier. - 1389-9457 .- 1878-5506. ; 12:2, s. 190-197
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objectives: In Europe, the services provided for the investigation and management of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) varies from country to country. The aim of this questionnaire-based study was to investigate the current status of diagnostic pathways and therapeutic approaches applied in the treatment of OSA in Europe, qualification requirements of physicians involved in diagnosis and treatment of OSA, and reimbursement of these services. Methods: Two questionnaires were sent to 39 physicians in 22 countries in Europe. In order to standardize the responses, the questionnaire was accompanied by an example. Results: Sleep centers from 21 countries (38 physicians) participated. A broad consistency among countries with respect to the following was found: pathways included referral to sleep physicians/sleep laboratories, necessity for objective diagnosis (primarily by polysomnography), use of polygraphic methods, analysis of polysomnography (PSG), indications for positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy, application of standard continuous PAP (CPAP) therapy (100% with an CPAP/APAP ratio of 2.24:1), and the need (90.5%) and management of follow-up. Differences were apparent in reimbursement of the diagnostic procedures and follow-up, in the procedures for PAP titration from home APAP titration with portable sleep apnea monitoring (38.1%) up to hospital monitoring with PSG and APAP (85.7%), and in the qualification requirements of sleep physicians. Conclusions: Management of OSA in different European countries is similar except for reimbursement rules, qualification of sleep specialists and procedures for titration of the CPAP treatment. A European network (such as the one accomplished by the European Cooperation in Science and Technology [COST] B26 Action) could be helpful for implementing these findings into health-service research in order to standardize management in a cost effective perspective.
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| 3. |
- Fietze, I., et al.
(författare)
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Management of obstructive sleep apnea in Europe-A 10-year follow-up
- 2022
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Ingår i: Sleep Medicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 1389-9457. ; 97, s. 64-72
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: In 2010, a questionnaire-based study on obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) management in Europe identified differences regarding reimbursement, sleep specialist qualification, and titration procedures. Now, 10 years later, a follow-up study was conducted as part of the ESADA (European Sleep Apnea Database) network to explore the development of OSA management over time.Methods: The 2010 questionnaire including questions on sleep diagnostic, reimbursement, treatment, and certification was updated with questions on telemedicine and distributed to European Sleep Centers to reflect European OSA management practice.Results: 26 countries (36 sleep centers) participated, representing 20 ESADA and 6 non-ESADA countries. All 21 countries from the 2010 survey participated. In 2010, OSA diagnostic procedures were performed mainly by specialized physicians (86%), whereas now mainly by certified sleep specialists and specialized physicians (69%). Treatment and titration procedures are currently quite homogenous, with a strong trend towards more Autotitrating Positive Airway Pressure treatment (in hospital 73%, at home 62%). From 2010 to 2020, home sleep apnea testing use increased (76%-89%) and polysomnography as sole diagnostic procedure decreased (24%-12%). Availability of a sleep specialist qualification increased (52%-65%) as well as the number of certified polysomnography scorers (certified physicians: 36%-79%; certified technicians: 20%-62%). Telemedicine, not surveyed in 2010, is now in 2020 used in diagnostics (8%), treatment (50%), and follow-up (73%). Conclusion: In the past decade, formal qualification of sleep center personnel increased, OSA diagnostic and treatment procedures shifted towards a more automatic approach, and telemedicine became more prominent.(c) 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
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| 4. |
- Gunduz, C., et al.
(författare)
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Long-term positive airway pressure therapy is associated with reduced total cholesterol levels in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: data from the European Sleep Apnea Database (ESADA)
- 2020
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Ingår i: Sleep Medicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 1389-9457. ; 75, s. 201-209
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background and aim: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an independent risk factor for dyslipidemia. The current study examined the effects of positive airway pressure (PAP) treatment on lipid status in the European Sleep Apnea Database (ESADA). Methods: The prospective cohort study enrolled 1564 OSA subjects (74% male, mean age 54 ± 11y, body mass index (BMI) 32.7 ± 6.6 kg/m2 and apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) 40.3 ± 24.4 n/h) undergoing PAP therapy for at least three months (mean 377.6 ± 419.5 days). Baseline and follow-up total cholesterol (TC) from nine centers were analyzed. Repeated measures and logistic regression tests (adjusted for age, sex, weight changes, lipid lowering medication, PAP compliance, and treatment duration) were used to compare changes in TC concentration. Incident risk for a coronary heart disease event (CHD) was used to compute a Framingham CHD risk score (estimated from age, BMI, blood pressure, and TC). Results: Adjusted means of TC decreased from 194.2 mg/dl to 189.3 mg/dl during follow-up (p = 0.019). A clinically significant (10%) reduction of TC at PAP follow-up was observed in 422 patients (27%). Duration of PAP therapy was identified as independent predictor for TC reduction, which implies an approximately 10% risk reduction for incident CHD events (from 26.7% to 24.1% in men and from 11.2% to 10.1% in women, p < 0.001 respectively). Conclusion: This observational study demonstrates a reduction of TC after long-term PAP treatment. The close association between TC concentration and cardiovascular (CV) mortality suggests that identification and treatment of OSA may have a beneficial effect on overall CV risk due to this mechanism. This possibility needs to be evaluated in prospective randomized studies. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.
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| 5. |
- Zou, Ding, 1970, et al.
(författare)
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Arterial bicarbonate is associated with hypoxic burden and uncontrolled hypertension in obstructive sleep apnea- The ESADA cohort
- 2023
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Ingår i: Sleep Medicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 1389-9457. ; 102, s. 39-45
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: Blood bicarbonate concentration plays an important role for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients to maintain acid-base balance. We investigated the association between arterial standard bicarbonate ([HCO3-]) and nocturnal hypoxia as well as comorbid hypertension in OSA.Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of 3329 patients in the European Sleep Apnea Database (ESADA) was performed. Arterial blood gas analysis and lung function test were performed in conjunction with polysomnographic sleep studies. The 4% oxygen desaturation index (ODI), mean and minimum oxygen saturation (SpO2), and percentage of time with SpO2 below 90% (T90%) were used to reflect nocturnal hypoxic burden. Arterial hypertension was defined as a physician diagnosis of hypertension with ongoing antihypertensive medication. Hypertensive patients with SBP/DBP below or above 140/90 mmHg were classified as controlled-, uncontrolled hypertension, respectively.Results: The [HCO3-] level was normal in most patients (average 24.0 +/- 2.5 mmol/L). ODI, T90% increased whereas mean and minimum SpO2 decreased across [HCO3-] tertiles (ANOVA, p = 0.030, <0.001, <0.001, and <0.001, respectively). [HCO3-] was independently associated with ODI, mean SpO2, minimum SpO2, and T90% after adjusting for confounders (b value [95%CI]: 1.21 [0.88-1.54], -0.16 [-0.20 to -0.11], -0.51 [-0.64 to -0.37], 1.76 [1.48-2.04], respectively, all p < 0.001). 1 mmol/L elevation of [HCO3-] was associated with a 4% increased odds of uncontrolled hypertension (OR: 1.04 [1.01-1.08], p = 0.013). Conclusion: We first demonstrated an independent association between [HCO3-] and nocturnal hypoxic burden as well as uncontrolled hypertension in OSA patients. Bicarbonate levels as an adjunctive measure provide insight into the pathophysiology of hypertension in OSA.
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