P061 RAPID-OSA Study: Remote ApneaLink Providing Immediate Diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

INTRODUCTION: In-laboratory polysomnography (PSG) is the gold standard for diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea. However, studies showed portable sleep monitoring devices can reliably substitute PSG in patients with a high pre-test probability of moderate-to-severe OSA. In this prospective study, we assessed utility of ApneaLink for diagnosis of OSA in patients living in rural and remote QLD. METHOD: Thirty-five patients, living in rural and remote QLD were included in the study. ApneaLink device with clear instructions was sent to patients via registered post for being worn for a single typical night. Results were analysed and patients were reviewed post study. PROGRESS TO DATE: The study population included thirty five patients (58.8%) male with a mean age of 53.2 years old and median body mass index of 36 kg/m2. The mean time between receiving referral to concluding ApneaLink study was 56 days. This is statistically significant compared to our previous experience in 2017 with mean wait time of 153 days for in-laboratory sleep study (p-value 0.0001). There was significant reduction in expenses in patients underwent level three sleep study compared to PSG. Total postage cost of our study was 1107 Aud with each AL device price of 350$ while in-laboratory study costs 2338$ per night. CONCLUSION: AL has shown substantial cost effectiveness in diagnosis of OSA in patients with uncomplicated moderate to high pre-test probability by eliminating travel cost and reducing in-laboratory sleep study requirement. Full results to follow.