Implementation of sleep apnoea testing and treatment services into a cardiometabolic clinic for people living with severe mental illness: a prospective evaluation of a translational programme

Background Medical care for sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in severe mental illness (SMI) is often ignored or poorly delivered. Here we describe an oximetry screening and management pathway for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and assess the night-to-night reliability in a specialist cardiometabolic...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Brendon J Yee, Ronald R Grunstein, Nathaniel S Marshall, Angela L D'Rozario, Paola Espinel, Garry Cho, Kathleen Smith, Henry W Ainge-Allen, Lachlan Stranks, Gislaine Gauthier, Timothy Lambert
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2025-04-01
Series:BMJ Open
Online Access:https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/4/e092034.full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850148006469304320
author Brendon J Yee
Ronald R Grunstein
Nathaniel S Marshall
Angela L D'Rozario
Paola Espinel
Garry Cho
Kathleen Smith
Henry W Ainge-Allen
Lachlan Stranks
Gislaine Gauthier
Timothy Lambert
author_facet Brendon J Yee
Ronald R Grunstein
Nathaniel S Marshall
Angela L D'Rozario
Paola Espinel
Garry Cho
Kathleen Smith
Henry W Ainge-Allen
Lachlan Stranks
Gislaine Gauthier
Timothy Lambert
author_sort Brendon J Yee
collection DOAJ
description Background Medical care for sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in severe mental illness (SMI) is often ignored or poorly delivered. Here we describe an oximetry screening and management pathway for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and assess the night-to-night reliability in a specialist cardiometabolic disease management clinic for patients with SMI.Objective The implementation and evaluation of a sleep service for patients living with SMI.Design Prospective evaluation of a translational programme.Setting A multidisciplinary outpatient clinic for patients with SMI.Methods The clinic was prospectively evaluated between May 2019 and December 2020. We used questionnaires and three nights of oximetry to screen patients for OSA. A project coordinator managed the testing-treatment pathway while liaising with health care providers. We also evaluated the agreement between two nights of oximetry.Results It is feasible to integrate sleep service into a cardiometabolic clinic for patients with SMI. Oximetry data were collected from 140/153 patients and 129/140 had at least adequate oximetry data for one night, and 107 (82%) had two nights. Oximetry indicated likely moderate-to-severe OSA in 33 patients and severe OSA in 22 patients. A total of 96/140 patients were referred to the SMI sleep clinic, and 40 (42%) recommended polysomnography (PSG) and 31 (78%) completed PSG. Of the 44 patients recommended continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, 38 initiated CPAP and 20 (51.3%) demonstrated adherence (>4 hours 70% of nights over 30 days). Bland-Altman analysis of two nights of oxygen desaturation events greater than 4% per hour found a mean difference of −0.2 (95% CI −14.0 to 14.0). Misclassification of OSA severity was seen in 12 patients (18.7%).Conclusions Our recount shows the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing a sleep service in a cardiometabolic clinic for patients with SMI, and using oximetry is an effective diagnostic test of SDB. Having a dedicated project coordinator to oversee the clinical pathway avoids fragmentation of clinical services.
format Article
id doaj-art-1c88c45496b9468cbc5e22a965a9cdba
institution OA Journals
issn 2044-6055
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher BMJ Publishing Group
record_format Article
series BMJ Open
spelling doaj-art-1c88c45496b9468cbc5e22a965a9cdba2025-08-20T02:27:23ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552025-04-0115410.1136/bmjopen-2024-092034Implementation of sleep apnoea testing and treatment services into a cardiometabolic clinic for people living with severe mental illness: a prospective evaluation of a translational programmeBrendon J Yee0Ronald R Grunstein1Nathaniel S Marshall2Angela L D'Rozario3Paola Espinel4Garry Cho5Kathleen Smith6Henry W Ainge-Allen7Lachlan Stranks8Gislaine Gauthier9Timothy Lambert10Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaRoyal Prince Alfred Hosptial, Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaMacquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaCentre for Sleep and Chronobiology, Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaSleep and Circadian Research Group, The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaSleep and Circadian Research Group, The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaConcord Clinical School and Collaborative Centre for Cardiometabolic Health In Psychosis - Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaSleep and Circadian Research Group, The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaSleep and Circadian Research Group, The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaRoyal Prince Alfred Hospital and University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaConcord Clinical School and Collaborative Centre for Cardiometabolic Health In Psychosis - Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, New South Wales, AustraliaBackground Medical care for sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) in severe mental illness (SMI) is often ignored or poorly delivered. Here we describe an oximetry screening and management pathway for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and assess the night-to-night reliability in a specialist cardiometabolic disease management clinic for patients with SMI.Objective The implementation and evaluation of a sleep service for patients living with SMI.Design Prospective evaluation of a translational programme.Setting A multidisciplinary outpatient clinic for patients with SMI.Methods The clinic was prospectively evaluated between May 2019 and December 2020. We used questionnaires and three nights of oximetry to screen patients for OSA. A project coordinator managed the testing-treatment pathway while liaising with health care providers. We also evaluated the agreement between two nights of oximetry.Results It is feasible to integrate sleep service into a cardiometabolic clinic for patients with SMI. Oximetry data were collected from 140/153 patients and 129/140 had at least adequate oximetry data for one night, and 107 (82%) had two nights. Oximetry indicated likely moderate-to-severe OSA in 33 patients and severe OSA in 22 patients. A total of 96/140 patients were referred to the SMI sleep clinic, and 40 (42%) recommended polysomnography (PSG) and 31 (78%) completed PSG. Of the 44 patients recommended continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy, 38 initiated CPAP and 20 (51.3%) demonstrated adherence (>4 hours 70% of nights over 30 days). Bland-Altman analysis of two nights of oxygen desaturation events greater than 4% per hour found a mean difference of −0.2 (95% CI −14.0 to 14.0). Misclassification of OSA severity was seen in 12 patients (18.7%).Conclusions Our recount shows the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing a sleep service in a cardiometabolic clinic for patients with SMI, and using oximetry is an effective diagnostic test of SDB. Having a dedicated project coordinator to oversee the clinical pathway avoids fragmentation of clinical services.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/4/e092034.full
spellingShingle Brendon J Yee
Ronald R Grunstein
Nathaniel S Marshall
Angela L D'Rozario
Paola Espinel
Garry Cho
Kathleen Smith
Henry W Ainge-Allen
Lachlan Stranks
Gislaine Gauthier
Timothy Lambert
Implementation of sleep apnoea testing and treatment services into a cardiometabolic clinic for people living with severe mental illness: a prospective evaluation of a translational programme
BMJ Open
title Implementation of sleep apnoea testing and treatment services into a cardiometabolic clinic for people living with severe mental illness: a prospective evaluation of a translational programme
title_full Implementation of sleep apnoea testing and treatment services into a cardiometabolic clinic for people living with severe mental illness: a prospective evaluation of a translational programme
title_fullStr Implementation of sleep apnoea testing and treatment services into a cardiometabolic clinic for people living with severe mental illness: a prospective evaluation of a translational programme
title_full_unstemmed Implementation of sleep apnoea testing and treatment services into a cardiometabolic clinic for people living with severe mental illness: a prospective evaluation of a translational programme
title_short Implementation of sleep apnoea testing and treatment services into a cardiometabolic clinic for people living with severe mental illness: a prospective evaluation of a translational programme
title_sort implementation of sleep apnoea testing and treatment services into a cardiometabolic clinic for people living with severe mental illness a prospective evaluation of a translational programme
url https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/15/4/e092034.full
work_keys_str_mv AT brendonjyee implementationofsleepapnoeatestingandtreatmentservicesintoacardiometabolicclinicforpeoplelivingwithseverementalillnessaprospectiveevaluationofatranslationalprogramme
AT ronaldrgrunstein implementationofsleepapnoeatestingandtreatmentservicesintoacardiometabolicclinicforpeoplelivingwithseverementalillnessaprospectiveevaluationofatranslationalprogramme
AT nathanielsmarshall implementationofsleepapnoeatestingandtreatmentservicesintoacardiometabolicclinicforpeoplelivingwithseverementalillnessaprospectiveevaluationofatranslationalprogramme
AT angelaldrozario implementationofsleepapnoeatestingandtreatmentservicesintoacardiometabolicclinicforpeoplelivingwithseverementalillnessaprospectiveevaluationofatranslationalprogramme
AT paolaespinel implementationofsleepapnoeatestingandtreatmentservicesintoacardiometabolicclinicforpeoplelivingwithseverementalillnessaprospectiveevaluationofatranslationalprogramme
AT garrycho implementationofsleepapnoeatestingandtreatmentservicesintoacardiometabolicclinicforpeoplelivingwithseverementalillnessaprospectiveevaluationofatranslationalprogramme
AT kathleensmith implementationofsleepapnoeatestingandtreatmentservicesintoacardiometabolicclinicforpeoplelivingwithseverementalillnessaprospectiveevaluationofatranslationalprogramme
AT henrywaingeallen implementationofsleepapnoeatestingandtreatmentservicesintoacardiometabolicclinicforpeoplelivingwithseverementalillnessaprospectiveevaluationofatranslationalprogramme
AT lachlanstranks implementationofsleepapnoeatestingandtreatmentservicesintoacardiometabolicclinicforpeoplelivingwithseverementalillnessaprospectiveevaluationofatranslationalprogramme
AT gislainegauthier implementationofsleepapnoeatestingandtreatmentservicesintoacardiometabolicclinicforpeoplelivingwithseverementalillnessaprospectiveevaluationofatranslationalprogramme
AT timothylambert implementationofsleepapnoeatestingandtreatmentservicesintoacardiometabolicclinicforpeoplelivingwithseverementalillnessaprospectiveevaluationofatranslationalprogramme