Practice parameters for the medical therapy of obstructive sleep apnea: Standards of Practice Committee of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine

Timothy I. Morgenthaler, Sheldon Kapen, Teofilo Lee-Chiong, Cathy Alessi, Brian Boehlecke, Terry Brown, Jack Coleman, Leah Friedman, Vishesh Kapur, Judith Owens, Jeffrey Pancer, Todd Swick

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

177 Scopus citations

Abstract

Therapies for obstructive sleep apnea other than positive airway pressure, oral appliances, and surgical modifications of the upper airway are reviewed in this practice parameter. Several of these therapies such as weight loss and positional therapy hold some promise. Others, such as serotonergic agents, may gain credibility in the future but lack well-designed clinical trials. No practice parameters could be developed for a number of possible therapeutic modalities that had little or no evidence-based data on which to form a conclusion. The role of an organized, targeted weight-loss program either as a single therapy or as a supplement to PAP needs to be clarified. Although bariatric surgery is increasingly performed for refractory medically complicated obesity, its long-term effectiveness in treatment of obstructive sleep apnea in morbidly obese patients is not yet demonstrated. Positional therapy, or methods for preventing sleep in the supine position, has probably been underutilized due to lack of easily measured predictive factors and randomized controlled trials.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1031-1035
Number of pages5
JournalSleep
Volume29
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1 2006

Keywords

  • Bariatric surgery
  • Medical therapy
  • Obstructive sleep apnea
  • Positional therapy
  • Selective serotonergic uptake inhibitors
  • Supplementary oxygen
  • Weight reduction

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Clinical Neurology
  • Physiology (medical)

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