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PURPOSE:

Orofacial myofunctional therapy (OMT) is a modality of treatment for children and adults with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) to promote changes in the musculature of the upper airways. This review summarizes and discusses the effects of OMT on OSA, the therapeutic programs employed, and their possible mechanisms of action.

METHODS:

We conducted an online literature search using the databases MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science. Search terms were “obstructive sleep apnea” in combination with “myofunctional therapy” OR “oropharyngeal exercises” OR “speech therapy”. We considered original articles in English and Portuguese containing a diagnosis of OSA based on polysomnography (PSG). The primary outcomes of interest for this review were objective measurement derived from PSG and subjective sleep symptoms. The secondary outcome was the evaluation of orofacial myofunctional status.

RESULTS:

Eleven studies were included in this review. The studies reviewed reveal that several benefits of OMT were demonstrated in adults, which include significant decrease of apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), reduced arousal index, improvement in subjective symptoms of daytime sleepiness, sleep quality, and life quality. In children with residual apnea, OMT promoted a decrease of AHI, increase in oxygen saturation, and improvement of orofacial myofunctional status. Few of the studies reviewed reported the effects of OMT on the musculature.

CONCLUSION:

The present review showed that OMT is effective for the treatment of adults in reducing the severity of OSA and snoring, and improving the quality of life. OMT is also successful for the treatment of children with residual apnea. In addition, OMT favors the adherence to continuous positive airway pressure. However, randomized and high-quality studies are still rare, and the effects of treatment should also be analyzed on a long-term basis, including measures showing if changes occurred in the musculature.

Author: de Felício CM, da Silva Dias FV, Trawitzki LVV

Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30233265

Patients who have risk factors for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) or who report symptoms of OSA should be screened for it, first with a complete sleep history and standardized questionnaire, and then by objective testing if indicated. The gold standard test for OSA is polysomnography performed overnight in a sleep laboratory. Home testing is an option in certain instances.

Common risk factors include obesity, resistant hypertension, retrognathia, large neck circumference (> 17 inches in men, > 16 inches in women), and history of stroke, atrial fibrillation, nocturnal arrhythmias, heart failure, and pulmonary hypertension. Screening is also recommended for any patient who is found on physical examination to have upper-airway narrowing or who reports symptoms such as loud snoring, observed episodes of apnea, gasping or choking at night, unrefreshing sleep, morning headaches, unexplained fatigue, and excessive tiredness during the day.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine suggests three opportunities to screen for OSA¹:

• At routine health maintenance visits
• If the patient reports clinical symptoms of OSA
• If the patient has risk factors.

A DISMAL STATISTIC

The prevalence of OSA in the United States is high, estimated to be 2% in women and 4% in men in the middle-aged work force,² and even more in blacks, Asians, and older adults.³ Yet only 10% of people with OSA are diagnosed⁴—a dismal statistic considering the association of OSA with resistant hypertension⁵ and with a greater risk of stroke,⁶cardiovascular disease, and death.⁷

CONSEQUENCES OF UNTREATED OSA

Untreated OSA is associated with a number of conditions⁷:

• Hypertension. OSA is one of the most common conditions associated with resistant hypertension. Patients with severe OSA and resistant hypertension who comply with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment have significant reductions in blood pressure.
• Coronary artery disease. OSA is twice as common in people with coronary artery disease as in those with no coronary artery disease. In patients with coronary artery disease and OSA, CPAP may reduce the rate of nonfatal and fatal cardiovascular events.
• Heart failure. OSA is common in patients with systolic dysfunction (11% to 37%). OSA also has been detected in more than 50% of patients with heart failure with preserved systolic function. CPAP treatment can improve ejection fraction in patients with systolic dysfunction.
• Arrythmias. Atrial fibrillation, nonsustained ventricular tachycardia, and complex ventricular ectopy have been reported to be significantly more common in people with OSA.⁸ If the underlying cardiac conduction system is normal and there is no significant thyroid dysfunction, bradyarrhythmias and heart block may be treated effectively with CPAP.⁷ Treatment of OSA may decrease the incidence and severity of ventricular arrhythmias.⁷
• Sudden cardiac death. OSA was independently associated with sudden cardiac death in a longitudinal study.⁹
• Stroke. The Sleep Heart Health Study⁶ showed that OSA is 30% more common in patients who developed ischemic stroke. Long-term CPAP treatment in moderate to severe OSA and ischemic stroke is associated with a reduction in the mortality rate.¹⁰
• Diabetes. The Sleep Heart Health Study showed that OSA is independently associated with glucose intolerance and insulin resistance and may lead to type 2 diabetes mellitus.¹¹

A QUESTIONNAIRE HELPS IDENTIFY WHO NEEDS TESTING

If you suspect OSA, consider administering a sleep disorder questionnaire such as the Berlin,¹² the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, or the STOP-Bang questionnaire (Table 1). The STOP-Bang questionnaire is an easy-to-use tool that expands on the STOP questionnaire (snoring, tiredness, observed apnea, high blood pressure) with the addition of body mass index, age, neck size, and gender. The Berlin questionnaire has been validated in the primary care setting.¹² The STOP-Bang questionnaire has been validated in preoperative settings¹³ but not in the primary care setting (although it has been commonly used in primary care).

WHICH TEST TO ORDER?

If the score on the questionnaire indicates a moderate or high risk of OSA, the patient should undergo objective testing with polysomnography or, in certain instances, home testing.¹Polysomnography is the gold standard. Home testing costs less and is easier to arrange, but the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends it as an alternative to polysomnography, in conjunction with a comprehensive sleep evaluation, only in the following situations¹⁴:

• If the patient has a high pretest probability of moderate to severe OSA
• If immobility or critical illness makes polysomnography unfeasible
• If direct monitoring of the response to non-CPAP treatments for sleep apnea is needed.

Home testing for OSA should not be used in the following situations:

• If the patient has significant morbidity such as moderate to severe pulmonary disease, neuromuscular disease, or congestive heart failure
• In evaluating a patient suspected of having comorbid sleep disorders such as central sleep apnea, periodic limb movement disorder, insomnia, parasomnias, circadian rhythm disorder, or narcolepsy
• In screening of asymptomatic patients.

Home testing has important drawbacks. It may underestimate the severity of sleep apnea. The rate of false-negative results may be as high as 17%. If the home test was thought to be technically inadequate or the results were inconsistent with those that were expected—ie, if the patient has a high pretest probability of OSA based on risk factors or symptoms but negative results on home testing—then the patient should undergo polysomnography.¹⁴

DIAGNOSIS

The diagnosis of OSA is confirmed if the number of apnea events per hour (ie, the apnea-hypopnea index) on polysomnography or home testing is more than 15, regardless of symptoms, or more than 5 in a patient who reports OSA symptoms. An apnea-hypopnea index of 5 to 14 indicates mild OSA, 15 to 30 indicates moderate OSA, and greater than 30 indicates severe OSA.

BENEFITS OF TREATMENT

Treatment of OSA with CPAP reduces the 10-year risk of fatal and nonfatal motor vehicle accidents by 52%, the 10-year expected number of myocardial infarctions by 49%, and the 10-year risk of stroke by 31%.⁷ It has also been found to be cost-effective, for men and women of all ages with moderate to severe OSA.¹⁵

Aminophylline suppositories, cocaine nasal packs, and potassium iodide were commonly prescribed for asthma in 1963 when Claude A. Frazier, MD, wrote a thoughtful essay on the do’s and don’ts in treating allergic asthma in Consultant.1 How times have changed! Dr Frazier left us with several clinical observations that are prophetic. He was correct in asserting in his introduction that “allergic asthma is a problem disease; its capricious nature defies control and keeps the health of the asthmatic always in a precarious state. And, improper treatment can make the asthma worse.” His wisdom preceded the proliferation of consensus guidelines, beginning with the National Institutes of Health National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NIH-NAEPP) Expert Panel Report (EPR-1) in 1991.2 Here I offer an updated list of do’s and don’ts and a perspective from one clinician’s experience with difficult-to-control asthma since 1998 ……

Samuel Louie, MD
Professor of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine; and Director, UC Davis Asthma Network (UCAN) at UC Davis Health, Sacramento, California

Citation:
Louie S. Lies, damned lies, and asthma. Consultant. 2018;58(12):336-342.

Source: https://www.consultant360.com/article/pulmonology/asthma/lies-damned-lies-and-asthma

Patients with asthma, COPD or other chronic lung conditions always asks me whether exercise can reverse or improve the disease or improve lung capacity? Generally speaking, breathing exercises or pulmonary rehab program does not improve pulmonary functional capacity as measured by FEV1. However, they can perform exercises that may reduce shortness of breath, anxiety, and stress, related to underlying pulmonary diseases. Pursed lip breathing, belly breathing, and interval training are related to improvements in dyspnea. Read more on detailed instruction of theses exercise program for your patients.

Physicians are at increased pressure to reduce readmissions for certain chronic diseases. A recent study found that implementation of the 30-day readmission rules has been associated with increased 30-day post-discharge mortality for those hospitalized for heart failure and pneumonia.

Post-discharge deaths have increased by 0.25% for patients hospitalized with heart failure and by 0.40% for patients with pneumonia since the implementation of the 30-day readmission rules.
There are approximately 8 million hospitalizations during the study period. Such small increases may account for a large number of deaths.

The findings, published online in JAMA, come from a retrospective cohort study that compared mortality rates among 8.3 million Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for these common conditions before and after implementation of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program (HRRP). This early data should lead physicians to exercise caution in discharging patients prematurely.

Source: Association of the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program With Mortality Among Medicare Beneficiaries Hospitalized for Heart Failure, Acute Myocardial Infarction, and Pneumonia. JAMA. 2018;320(24):2542-2552. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.19232

Corticosteroids were both beneficial and cost-effective for hospitalized adults with severe CAP. Hospitalized people with non-severe CAP may also benefit from corticosteroid therapy, but with no survival advantage

In 2015, results of two randomized trials showed that systemic corticosteroids were beneficial for some hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP; NEJM JW Gen Med Mar 15 2015 and JAMA 2015; 313:677; NEJM JW Gen Med Mar 1 2015 and Lancet 2015; 385:1511). Now, two new meta-analyses — one by the Cochrane Library, and one by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) — address whether CAP patients should receive systemic corticosteroids routinely.

These meta-analyses suggest that low-dose (≈40 mg), short-course (3–7 days) systemic corticosteroids should be strongly considered for hospitalized adults with severe CAP. These results do not apply to outpatients with CAP or to inpatients with hospital-acquired pneumonia or ventilator-associated pneumonia. Several ongoing randomized trials probably will clarify steroid use further for pneumonia indications.

Source:
The Cost-effectiveness of Corticosteroids for the treatment of Community-Acquired Pneumonia
Chest. 2018 Nov 15. pii: S0012-3692(18)32727-2. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2018.11.001.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30448195?dopt=Abstract