Change is the Only Constant in Life (and in Sleep Medicine)

ABSTRACT

Heraclitus, a philosopher who lived nearly 500 years before the common era, made the assertion that "Life is Flux," meaning that change is the only constant in life. Modern medicine, inclusive of the field of sleep medicine, has undergone dramatic changes over the last 10 years. For the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) specifically, the last year has been one of great change. Yes, change happens, but with great change comes even greater opportunity. As AASM president, I have been focused on staying abreast of the changes in our health care system while anticipating and preparing to adapt to challenges in our field. In June 2017, given all the changes in our health care delivery system, I challenged the AASM membership and our field to adapt our models of care to reduce the number of patients with undiagnosed and untreated obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) by 10% over 5 years. This article will provide a brief update describing how the AASM board of directors has responded to my challenge and capitalized on change in the areas of the physician pipeline, patient access, advocacy, new technology and strategic research. Change is inevitable and often beyond our control, but how we anticipate and respond to change is entirely within our power. As sleep specialists, it is our responsibility not only to respond to change so that we can deliver the best possible care for our patients, but also to be the leading voice for change so that we all achieve better health through optimal sleep.

Undiagnosed and comorbid disorders in patients with presumed chronic fatigue syndrome

OBJECTIVE

To assess undiagnosed and comorbid disorders in patients referred to a tertiary care center with a presumed diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS).

METHODS

Patients referred for chronic unexplained fatigue entered an integrated diagnostic pathway, including internal medicine assessment, psychodiagnostic screening, physiotherapeutic assessment and polysomnography+multiple sleep latency testing. Final diagnosis resulted from a multidisciplinary team discussion. Fukuda criteria were used for the diagnosis of CFS, DSM-IV-TR criteria for psychiatric disorders, ICSD-2 criteria for sleep disorders.

RESULTS

Out of 377 patients referred, 279 (74.0%) were included in the study [84.9% female; mean age 38.8years (SD 10.3)]. A diagnosis of unequivocal CFS was made in 23.3%. In 21.1%, CFS was associated with a sleep disorder and/or psychiatric disorder, not invalidating the diagnosis of CFS. A predominant sleep disorder was found in 9.7%, 19.0% had a psychiatric disorder and 20.8% a combination of both. Only 2.2% was diagnosed with a classical internal disease. In the total sample, a sleep disorder was found in 49.8%, especially obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, followed by psychophysiologic insomnia and periodic limb movement disorder. A psychiatric disorder was diagnosed in 45.2%; mostly mood and anxiety disorder.

CONCLUSIONS

A multidisciplinary approach to presumed CFS yields unequivocal CFS in only a minority of patients, and reveals a broad spectrum of exclusionary or comorbid conditions within the domains of sleep medicine and psychiatry. These findings favor a systematic diagnostic approach to CFS, suitable to identify a wide range of diagnostic categories that may be subject to dedicated care.

Technical advances in the characterization of the complexity of sleep and sleep disorders

The current clinical standard for quantifying sleep physiology is the laboratory polysomnogram, from which basic sleep-wake stages are determined. However, the complexity of sleep physiology has inspired alternative metrics that are providing additional insights into the rich dynamics of sleep. Electro-encephalography, magneto-encephalography, and functional magnetic resonance imaging represent advanced imaging modalities for understanding brain dynamics. These methods are complemented by autonomic measurements that provide additional important insights. We review here the spectrum of approaches that have been leveraged towards improved understanding of the complexity of sleep.