Treatment of sleep apnea by ENT specialists during the COVID-19 pandemic

P-L Bastier; N Aisenberg; F Durand; P Lestang; D Abedipour; O Gallet de Santerre; V Couloigner; E Bequignon

doi:10.1016/j.anorl.2020.05.001

Treatment of sleep apnea by ENT specialists during the COVID-19 pandemic

Eur Ann Otorhinolaryngol Head Neck Dis. 2020 Sep;137(4):319-321. doi: 10.1016/j.anorl.2020.05.001. Epub 2020 May 11.

Authors

P-L Bastier¹, N Aisenberg², F Durand³, P Lestang⁴, D Abedipour⁵, O Gallet de Santerre⁶, V Couloigner⁷, E Bequignon⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of ENT and Maxillofacial Surgery, Maison de Santé Protestante de Bordeaux-Bagatelle, Talence, France.
² Medical practice, Les Pavillons-sous-bois, France; Department of Sleep Medicine, Hôpital Hôtel-Dieu, Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France.
³ Medical practice, Levallois Perret, France.
⁴ Medical practice, La Rochelle, France.
⁵ Charcot Clinic, Sainte-Foy-les-Lyon, France; Department of ENT, Head and Neck Surgery, E. Herriot University Hospital, Lyon, France.
⁶ Beau Soleil Clinic, Montpellier, France.
⁷ Paediatric ENT Department, Necker - Enfants Malades University Hospital, Assistance publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France.
⁸ Department of ENT, Head and Neck Surgery, Créteil Intercommunal Hospital and Henri Mondor University Hospital, Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Créteil, France. Electronic address: [email protected].

Abstract

The treatment of sleep disorders has been strongly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. When the lockdown is over, resumption of usual patient care will require precautions to limit the risk of contamination for patients and caregivers. In this document, the French Association of Otorhinolaryngology and Sleep disorders (AFSORL) and the French Society of Otorhinolaryngology (SFORL) put forward a summary of the measures for continuing the treatment of sleep apnoea syndrome in these new practice conditions. Emphasis is placed on teleconsultation, methods of nocturnal sleep studies, the conditions for treatment by continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) ventilation, and the postponement of more invasive treatments.

Keywords: COVID-19; CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure); Coronavirus; Hygiene; Mandibular advancement device (MAD); OSAS (Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome); Organisation of treatment; Otorhinolaryngology; Polygraph; SARS-CoV-2; Sleep apnoea; Sleep disorders; Sleep endoscopy.

MeSH terms

COVID-19
Continuous Positive Airway Pressure*
Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
Humans
Otolaryngology*
Pandemics
Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology*
Sleep Apnea Syndromes / diagnosis
Sleep Apnea Syndromes / therapy*