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  • Research & Results
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  • Screening and Diagnosis of Sleep Apne...

This project has results

Screening and Diagnosis of Sleep Apnea in People with Traumatic Brain Injury

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Project Summary

This research project is in progress. PCORI will post the research findings on this page within 90 days after the results are final. In the meantime, results have been published in peer-reviewed journals, as listed below.

What is the research about?

Sleep apnea is a common health problem in which the upper airway becomes blocked during sleep. It can cause snoring and disrupt breathing. People with sleep apnea may feel sleepy during the day. They may also have a hard time concentrating. Sleep apnea can make other health problems, like high blood pressure or diabetes, worse.

People who have a traumatic brain injury, or TBI, often have sleep apnea. Bumps or jolts to the head from accidents, combat duty, or other incidents can cause TBI. People with TBI often have headaches, nausea, dizziness, confusion, and mood changes. They may also have a hard time remembering things or focusing. Sleep apnea can make TBI symptoms worse and make recovery difficult.

Sleep apnea is treatable once it’s found. In this study, the research team is comparing different ways of screening and diagnosing sleep apnea in patients who are getting treatment for TBI.

Who can this research help?

Results from this study can help doctors who treat TBI and their patients identify sleep apnea so they can treat it.

What is the research team doing?

The research team is working with 259 patients with moderate to severe TBI. All patients are receiving inpatient TBI rehabilitation. First, the team is comparing two ways to screen patients for sleep apnea. All patients wear a wrist band that monitors their sleep. Clinic staff give all patients or their family members three different surveys about symptoms that might mean a patient has sleep apnea.  The research team is comparing the survey results and the wrist band results. The team wants to see how well each method works to find people with TBI who are at risk for sleep apnea.

To diagnose sleep apnea, the team is using two types of sleep study—one that uses portable equipment and one that has a technician who monitors the patient’s sleep during the night. All patients in the study get both types of monitoring. The team is looking at the sleep study results to see how well each sleep study type works to identify sleep apnea, including how severe it is, in people getting treatment for TBI.

People with TBI, caregivers, and policy makers worked with the research team to plan the study.

Research methods at a glance

Design Elements Description
Design Observational: cohort study
Population People ages 16 years and older diagnosed with TBI and admitted for inpatient rehabilitation at 6 TBI Model System Centers
Interventions/
Comparators
  • Actigraphy monitoring
  • Berlin Questionnaire
  • STOPBang Questionnaire
  • Multivariate Apnea Prediction Index (MAPI)
  • Level 1 polysomnography (technician-monitored diagnostic study)
  • Level 3 polysomnography (portable diagnostic study)
Outcomes

Primary: apnea-hypopnea index

Secondary: scores on STOPBang, Berlin, and MAPI surveys; actigraphy

Timeframe Data collection during inpatient rehabilitation for TBI

Journal Articles

Results of This Project

Chest

Comparison of Diagnostic Sleep Studies in Hospitalized Neurorehabilitation Patients With Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Comparative Effectiveness of Sleep Apnea Screening Instruments During Inpatient Rehabilitation Following Moderate to Severe TBI

Related Articles

Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Cost-Benefit Analysis From the Payor's Perspective for Screening and Diagnosing Obstructive Sleep Apnea During Inpatient Rehabilitation for Moderate to Severe TBI*

PM & R: The Journal of Injury, Function, and Rehabilitation

Coherence Between Sleep Detection by Actigraphy and Polysomnography in a Multi-Center, Inpatient Cohort of Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury

Sleep Medicine

Incidence and predictors of adherence to sleep apnea treatment in rehabilitation inpatients with acquired brain injury

International Journal of Rehabilitation Research

Functional improvement after severe brain injury with disorder of consciousness paralleling treatment for comorbid obstructive sleep apnoea: a case report

NeuroRehabilitation

Sleep after TBI: How the TBI Model Systems have advanced the field

More on this Project  

Videos

Screening Patients with Traumatic Brain Injuries for Sleep Apnea
Risa Richardson, PhD, explains the importance of her PCORI-funded project that compares two methods to screen for sleep apnea among  patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) early in their recovery.

Project Details

Principal Investigator
Risa Richardson, PhD
Project Status
In PCORI Peer-Review Process
Project Title
Comparison of Sleep Apnea Assessment Strategies to Maximize TBI Rehabilitation Participation and Outcome
Board Approval Date
July 2016
Project End Date
March 2021
Organization
Tampa VA Research and Education Foundation
Year Awarded
2016
State
Florida
Project Type
Research Project
Health Conditions  
Respiratory Diseases
Sleep Apnea
Trauma/Injuries
Head Injury
Intervention Strategies
Device Interventions
Screening Interventions
Other Clinical Interventions
Technology Interventions
Populations
Veterans
Funding Announcement
Assessment of Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment Options
Project Budget
$2,618,209
Study Registration Information
HSRP20164055
NCT03033901

Partners

Patient/Caregiver Partners

No information provided by awardee

Other Stakeholder Partners

Joel Scholten, MD, National Director, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Services, Veterans Health Administration Sidney R. Hinds II, MD, COL, MC, USA; DoD Brain Health Research Program Coordinator, Blast Injury Research Program Coordinating Office Medical Advisor to the Principal Assistant for Research and Technology, United States Army Medical Research and Material Command Joseph "Pepper" Coulter, Stakeholder Jill Coulter, Stakeholder
Page Last Updated: 
December 4, 2020

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