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Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Pregnancy: Early Lessons From Our Sleep Pregnancy Clinic.

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: PROBLEM CONSIDERED: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is underdiagnosed during pregnancy, but there is strong theoretical and some empiric evidence that treatment may improve obstetric outcomes. Barriers to screening, testing, and treatment are common during pregnancy. The goal of this described intervention was to reduce these barriers and improve detection of OSA in pregnancy. METHODS: Representatives from sleep medicine and perinatology established a cross-disciplinary, collaborative Sleep Pregnancy Clinic offering a streamlined referral process for multimodal screening, testing, and treatment of OSA during pregnancy. This is a retrospective analysis of data from the clinic's first 19 months. RESULTS: = 0.0012]). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Despite a streamlined referral pipeline, completion rates of OSA testing in pregnant women remained below 50%. However, the overall number of women referred and who completed testing increased significantly during this time period. Of those who completed testing, the majority were diagnosed with OSA. Since starting this clinic, we have created resources to familiarize patients with the equipment and worked to reduce other barriers. Assessment of these interventions and the impact of treatment on obstetric outcomes is ongoing, as is assessment of reasons women do not complete diagnostic testing.

Source: PubMed