Does unconscious socioeconomic bias influence tele-evaluation of obstructive sleep apnea? An exploratory analysis.

Study Objectives: We examined the association between a patient's income and a provider's ability to identify risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) when assessed in-person versus via telemedicine.

Methods: We utilized data from a randomized interrater reliability study of 58 patients who were referred to a university sleep center. Participants volunteered their annual income bracket as part of data collection, although raters were blinded to these data.

Interrater reliability between in-person and telemedicine evaluations in obstructive sleep apnea.

Study Objectives: We examined how telemedicine evaluation compares to face-to-face evaluation in identifying risk for sleep-disordered breathing.

Methods: This was a randomized interrater reliability study of 90 participants referred to a university sleep center. Participants were evaluated by a clinician investigator seeing the patient in-person, then randomized to a second clinician investigator who performed a patient evaluation online via audio-video conferencing.

Advances in the management of insomnia.

Insomnia is highly prevalent and associated with considerable morbidity. Several very efficacious treatments, both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic, exist for the management of insomnia. New modes of delivery and new formulations of existing sedative-hypnotic medications have been introduced.

The role of obesity and obstructive sleep apnea in the pathogenesis and treatment of resistant hypertension.

The incidence of resistant hypertension, obesity, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), three highly prevalent conditions in the United States, is rising. Approximately one in three adults in the US has hypertension, and a significant proportion of these individuals have hypertension that is difficult to treat, or resistant. Obesity and OSA are well-established risk factors for resistant hypertension, a condition that portends significant cardiovascular risk.