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Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep center operations and sleep apnea treatment in Korea: A multicenter survey

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has not only changed the lives of people around the world but also affected all areas of the healthcare system, including sleep medicine. However, no studies in Korea have investigated the status of domestic sleep centers and their challenges during t...

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Autores principales: Kim, Sei Won, Kim, Hwan Hee, Kim, Kyu Yean, Lee, Sang Haak, Kang, Hyeon Hui
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10545019/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34941202
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000028461
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author Kim, Sei Won
Kim, Hwan Hee
Kim, Kyu Yean
Lee, Sang Haak
Kang, Hyeon Hui
author_facet Kim, Sei Won
Kim, Hwan Hee
Kim, Kyu Yean
Lee, Sang Haak
Kang, Hyeon Hui
author_sort Kim, Sei Won
collection PubMed
description The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has not only changed the lives of people around the world but also affected all areas of the healthcare system, including sleep medicine. However, no studies in Korea have investigated the status of domestic sleep centers and their challenges during the pandemic. An online survey was performed from December 2020 to January 2021. Hospitals that belonged to sleep-related academic societies and were considered well managed were included in this survey. The questionnaire focused on changes in sleep center operations, infection control policies, and patient treatment since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine and future directions for sleep medicine services were also investigated. Of the 20 sleep centers that responded, 80% were at university hospitals with more than 500 inpatient beds. During the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea (November–December 2020), the routine operating schedule of the sleep study room was reduced in 30% of the sleep centers compared to November–December 2019 (before COVID-19). The number of type 1 polysomnographies performed decreased in 85% of the sleep centers. In contrast, in-lab positive airway pressure (PAP) titrations decreased in 40%, remained unchanged in 35%, and increased in 25%. With respect to prescriptions, 30% of the sleep centers increased the number of prescriptions for auto-titrating continuous PAP. However, 60% of the sleep centers reported no change in the rate of fixed continuous PAP and auto-titrating continuous PAP prescriptions. All sleep centers that participated in this survey agreed that the need for documented infection control regulations will continue after the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 30% of the centers have tried telemedicine. However, respondents expressed concern about telemedicine, citing a number of practical issues. Compared to countries where the COVID-19 pandemic was severe, Korea had less impact of COVID-19 on the sleep center operations and sleep apnea treatment. Infection and quality control in the sleep study room are important and inevitable issues, and regulation within each institution is necessary. Further research and discussion are needed regarding telemedicine and home sleep apnea test in Korea.
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spelling pubmed-105450192023-10-03 Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep center operations and sleep apnea treatment in Korea: A multicenter survey Kim, Sei Won Kim, Hwan Hee Kim, Kyu Yean Lee, Sang Haak Kang, Hyeon Hui Medicine (Baltimore) 6700 The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has not only changed the lives of people around the world but also affected all areas of the healthcare system, including sleep medicine. However, no studies in Korea have investigated the status of domestic sleep centers and their challenges during the pandemic. An online survey was performed from December 2020 to January 2021. Hospitals that belonged to sleep-related academic societies and were considered well managed were included in this survey. The questionnaire focused on changes in sleep center operations, infection control policies, and patient treatment since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Telemedicine and future directions for sleep medicine services were also investigated. Of the 20 sleep centers that responded, 80% were at university hospitals with more than 500 inpatient beds. During the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Korea (November–December 2020), the routine operating schedule of the sleep study room was reduced in 30% of the sleep centers compared to November–December 2019 (before COVID-19). The number of type 1 polysomnographies performed decreased in 85% of the sleep centers. In contrast, in-lab positive airway pressure (PAP) titrations decreased in 40%, remained unchanged in 35%, and increased in 25%. With respect to prescriptions, 30% of the sleep centers increased the number of prescriptions for auto-titrating continuous PAP. However, 60% of the sleep centers reported no change in the rate of fixed continuous PAP and auto-titrating continuous PAP prescriptions. All sleep centers that participated in this survey agreed that the need for documented infection control regulations will continue after the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 30% of the centers have tried telemedicine. However, respondents expressed concern about telemedicine, citing a number of practical issues. Compared to countries where the COVID-19 pandemic was severe, Korea had less impact of COVID-19 on the sleep center operations and sleep apnea treatment. Infection and quality control in the sleep study room are important and inevitable issues, and regulation within each institution is necessary. Further research and discussion are needed regarding telemedicine and home sleep apnea test in Korea. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 2021-12-23 /pmc/articles/PMC10545019/ /pubmed/34941202 http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000028461 Text en Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License 4.0 (CCBY-NC), where it is permissible to download, share, remix, transform, and buildup the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be used commercially without permission from the journal. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)
spellingShingle 6700
Kim, Sei Won
Kim, Hwan Hee
Kim, Kyu Yean
Lee, Sang Haak
Kang, Hyeon Hui
Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep center operations and sleep apnea treatment in Korea: A multicenter survey
title Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep center operations and sleep apnea treatment in Korea: A multicenter survey
title_full Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep center operations and sleep apnea treatment in Korea: A multicenter survey
title_fullStr Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep center operations and sleep apnea treatment in Korea: A multicenter survey
title_full_unstemmed Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep center operations and sleep apnea treatment in Korea: A multicenter survey
title_short Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep center operations and sleep apnea treatment in Korea: A multicenter survey
title_sort impacts of the covid-19 pandemic on sleep center operations and sleep apnea treatment in korea: a multicenter survey
topic 6700
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10545019/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34941202
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000028461
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