Patrol the hospital halls

[D.H.]

This might be controversial, but I think it's time!

Each hospital needs to have somebody patrolling the halls listening for snorers. While not everybody who snores has Sleep Apnea and not everybody who has Sleep Apnea snores, there is a strong correlation.

Hospitals have a moral duty to take care of their patients, and that includes finding what's wrong with them even if it's not the immediate cause of their hospitalization.

The gap between the number of people who have Sleep Apnea and the number of people who have actually been diagnosed has been reduced in recent years, but it's still sky-high!

I want to suggest this a while ago, but the pandemic hit and all healthcare resources were stretched to the breaking point.

[lynninnj]

This might be controversial, but I think it's time!

Each hospital needs to have somebody patrolling the halls listening for snorers. While not everybody who snores has Sleep Apnea and not everybody who has Sleep Apnea snores, there is a strong correlation.

Hospitals have a moral duty to take care of their patients, and that includes finding what's wrong with them even if it's not the immediate cause of their hospitalization.

The gap between the number of people who have Sleep Apnea and the number of people who have actually been diagnosed has been reduced in recent years, but it's still sky-high!

I want to suggest this a while ago, but the pandemic hit and all healthcare resources were stretched to the breaking point.

Interesting idea considering most folks are probably back sleeping at the hospital.

Its a fine line between what is bringing costs down for our healthcare system and what drives them up. Sometimes they don't see that in the long run it would be better to pay for x y z now rather than pqrst later.

Or maybe just start on the cardiology floor.

[Rubicon]

This might be controversial, but I think it's time!

Each hospital needs to have somebody patrolling the halls listening for snorers. While not everybody who snores has Sleep Apnea and not everybody who has Sleep Apnea snores, there is a strong correlation.

That's usually taken care of on intake. And absolutely anytime anesthesia will be involved.

The bigger issue is that river in Egypt.

[Rubicon]

And don't use snore search. Use STOPBANG.

[lazarus]

A major issue with inpatient sleep testing is the loss of follow-up in the outpatient setting. Although under-diagnosis of sleep apnea is a major concern, non-compliance and lack of patient understanding to use continuous positive pressure therapies are large impediments to curtailing this illness. Inpatient screening of patients is a good starting point if combined with an infrastructure for outpatient formal testing and close follow-up.

Tapping the Inpatient Setting for Sleep Apnea: Is This High Yield? Apr 15, 2015 | Nishaki Mehta, MBBS, FACC; Lilit Karapetyan, MD

https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiolog ... leep-apnea

[lynninnj]

A major issue with inpatient sleep testing is the loss of follow-up in the outpatient setting. Although under-diagnosis of sleep apnea is a major concern, non-compliance and lack of patient understanding to use continuous positive pressure therapies are large impediments to curtailing this illness. Inpatient screening of patients is a good starting point if combined with an infrastructure for outpatient formal testing and close follow-up.

Tapping the Inpatient Setting for Sleep Apnea: Is This High Yield? Apr 15, 2015 | Nishaki Mehta, MBBS, FACC; Lilit Karapetyan, MD

https://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiolog ... leep-apnea

Hmmm.....all of these things sound vaguely familiar.

Maybe they should be paying us for doing their jobs? tic

[colomom]

And don't use snore search. Use STOPBANG.

I wish sleep medicine would do away with STOPBANG. In my opinion using STOPBANG as one of the primary screening tools excludes many OSA sufferers and reinforces misconceptions held by numerous doctors about OSA patients. It is ridiculous to me that STOPBANG gives equal weight to witnessed events and being a man.
My son and I both have OSA and we only score 3 & 4 on STOPBANG. For both of us it was a huge uphill battle to get a sleep study because our doctors ascribed to the widely held misconception that OSA suffers are always obese, and most often elderly men.

My path to discovering that I had OSA began with an overnight stay in the hospital. My son was doing a sleep study and because he was pediatric a parent was required to spend the night as well. The morning after the sleep study the tech pulled me aside and told me she could hear me stopping breathing many times throughout the night and she strongly recommend I ask my doc for a sleep study.
I imagine that if more hospital personnel were trained to look for signs of OSA many possible sufferers would be identified.

[lazarus]

I don't mind STOP-Bang.

But I dont like the name.

I spent too much time in downtown Brooklyn.

[Rubicon]

I wish sleep medicine would do away with STOPBANG. In my opinion using STOPBANG as one of the primary screening tools excludes many OSA sufferers and reinforces misconceptions held by numerous doctors about OSA patients. It is ridiculous to me that STOPBANG gives equal weight to witnessed events and being a man.
My son and I both have OSA and we only score 3 & 4 on STOPBANG.

OK then what do you suggest as an alternative?

Let's take a look at you guys' sleep studies. If you scored intermediate on STOPBANG and had AHI of like 6 them IMO STOPBANG did it's job.

Also if you said yes on "O" then you don't need STOPBANG, you need NPSG.

[Rubicon]

I don't mind STOP-Bang.

But I dont like the name.

I spent too much time in downtown Brooklyn.

Actually reminds me of Times Square pre-Giuliani.

[lazarus]

All tools are limited and must be used in conjunction with other tools and common sense. But tools are tools are tools.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5214142/

[lazarus]

Actually reminds me of Times Square pre-Giuliani.

My mommy didn't let me go there.

[zonker]

All tools are limited and must be used in conjunction with other tools and common sense. But tools are tools are tools.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5214142/

who you callin' a tool?
<squints suspiciously>

[lazarus]

who you callin'

Let him that readeth understand.

[Okie bipap]

I was originally identified as possibly having sleep apnea during a hospital stay. The nurses noticed my blood oxygen level dropped quite a bit when I slept. The doctor who did the morning rounds prescribed my sleep study that confirmed it.