Atrial fibrillation-specific refinement of the STOP-Bang sleep apnoea screening questionnaire: insights from the Virtual-SAFARI study.

Background: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is prevalent in up to 50% of patients referred for atrial fibrillation (AF) catheter ablation (CA). Currently, it remains unclear how to improve pre-selection for SDB screening in patients with AF.

Aim: We aimed to (1) assess the accuracy of the STOP-Bang screening questionnaire for detection of SDB within an AF population referred for CA; (2) derive a refined, AF-specific SDB score to improve pre-selection.

A VIRTUAL Sleep Apnoea management pathway For the work-up of Atrial fibrillation patients in a digital Remote Infrastructure: VIRTUAL-SAFARI.

Aims: In atrial fibrillation (AF) patients, untreated sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is associated with lower success rates of rhythm control strategies and as such structured SDB testing is recommended. Herein, we describe the implementation of a virtual SDB management pathway in an AF outpatient clinic and examine the utility and feasibility of this new approach.

Methods And Results: Prospectively, consecutive AF patients accepted for AF catheter ablation procedures without previous diagnosis of SDB were digitally referred to a virtual SDB management pathway and instructed to use WatchPAT-ONE (ITAMAR) for one night.

Does the Patient-Reported Apnea Questionnaire (PRAQ) increase patient-centredness in the daily practice of sleep centres? a mixed-methods study.

Objectives: The objective of this exploratory study was to see how the Patient-Reported Apnea Questionnaire (PRAQ) may impact the daily clinical practice of sleep centres, and why it may or may not work as expected. The hypotheses were tested that this patient-reported outcome measure makes patients more aware of which of their health complaints may be related to obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), and that it improves patient-centredness of care by shifting the focus of care away from (only) medical problems towards the individual burden of disease and quality of life.

Design: Mixed methods.

Instrument completion and validation of the patient-reported apnea questionnaire (PRAQ).

Background: We previously developed the preliminary version of the Patient-Reported Apnea Questionnaire (PRAQ), a questionnaire measuring health-related quality of life in patients with (suspected) obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This questionnaire was developed for clinical practice, where it can potentially serve two goals: use on an individual patient level to improve patient care, and use on an aggregate level to measure outcomes for quality improvement at a sleep center. In this study we aim to finalize the PRAQ, make a subselection of items and domains specifically for outcome measurement, and assess the validity, reliability and responsiveness of the PRAQ.

The development of a patient-reported outcome measure for patients with obstructive sleep apnea: the Patient-Reported Apnea Questionnaire (PRAQ).

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a chronic condition that can have a wide range of consequences for a patient's health-related quality of life. Monitoring aspects of quality of life in clinical practice has the potential to improve the patient-centeredness of care for patients with OSA. The aim of this article is to describe the development of the Patient-Reported Apnea Questionnaire (PRAQ), a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) that is designed for use in clinical practice on an individual patient level, as well as subsequent outcome measurement on an aggregate level.