September 2007

ONE DAY TO REGISTER: Section Webcast Coming Up September 25
The Sleep Section will be hosting a section-only webcast on September 25 featuring Barbara Phillips, MD. Dr. Phillips will address the topic, “The Future of Sleep Medicine.” The webcast is free to all section members, and everyone can earn one free CRCE for viewing either the live or archived broadcast. REGISTER NOW

Congress is Back — We Need to Be Too
Congress is back in session, and that means we all need to redouble our efforts to contact our Senators and Representatives in support of key respiratory legislation, including bills to formally establish pulmonary rehabilitation as a Medicare benefit, repeal Medicare provisions calling for home oxygen patients to assume ownership of their equipment after 36 months, support allied health education, and allow for FDA regulation of tobacco. The AARC is also asking everyone to write their members of Congress, requesting that they support legislation to amend portions of the Part B Medicare law to allow certain respiratory therapists to deliver a broader array of services. You can learn more about these legislative initiatives and how to contact your members of Congress on the AARC’s CAPITOL CONNECTION web site.

ACCP Issues Position Statement on Sleep Licensure
The American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) has issued a new Position Statement calling for polysomnography licensure to be based on attendance at an education and training program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) through one of its member Committees on Accreditation. These Committees include CoAPSG (polysomnography), CoARC (respiratory care), or CoAEND (electroneurodiagnostic technology). The ACCP emphasizes non-accredited programs, such as the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s Accredited Sleep Technology Program should not be accepted as the criteria for licensure, noting these programs were set up to serve as stop gap measures in areas of the country without accredited programs. The paper goes on to state “additional certification beyond those of the relevant allied health disciplines must not be required.” READ POSITION STATEMENT

Nasal Cannula Works for OSA
CPAP may be an effective therapy for people with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), but adherence to the treatment remains problematic. Johns Hopkins researchers find OSA patients can also be treated effectively with an open nasal cannula, which may be better tolerated by some patients. Their study involved 11 OSA patients with a range of disease severity who were administered warm and humidified air at 20 L/min through an open nasal cannula. The treatment reduced the mean apnea-hypopnea index from 28+/-5 to 10+/-3 events per hour, the respiratory arousal index from 18+/-2 to 8+/-2 events per hour, and the apnea-hypopnea index to fewer than 10 events per hour in 8 of 11 subjects and fewer than 5 events per hour in 4 subjects. “The mechanism of action,” write the authors, “appears to be through an increase in end-expiratory pharyngeal pressure, which alleviated upper airway obstruction and improved ventilation.” The study was published in the July issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. READ ABSTRACT

Diabetics at Higher Risk for OSA
A new study finds diabetics may be at increased risk for OSA and should be regularly screened for the condition. The research involved 279 adults with type 2 diabetes who were screened for sleep disorders. The investigators found more than a third had OSA, with men affected to a greater extent than women. Results from the most recent survey on OSA conducted by the National Sleep Foundation estimate one in four people in the general population is affected. READ ARTICLE

What Will They Think of Next?