Implementation of an Obstructive Sleep Apnea Screening Program at an Overseas Military Hospital.

Area of Science:

• Anesthesiology
• Sleep Medicine
• Nursing Education

Background:

• Healthcare providers often fail to identify patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) without screening tools.
• Effective screening is crucial for managing OSA perioperatively.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of nurse education on OSA and integrating the STOP-BANG Questionnaire into preoperative forms.
• To assess the subsequent increase in identifying patients with suspected OSA and nurse-initiated anesthesia consultations.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of 200 consecutive patient records (100 pre- and 100 post-intervention).
• Implementation of nurse education on OSA and use of the STOP-BANG Questionnaire in preoperative forms.
• Analysis using descriptive and inferential statistics, with a threshold of STOP-BANG score ≥3 for high OSA risk.

Main Results:

• The prevalence of patients with a high risk of OSA (STOP-BANG score ≥3) increased from 5% to 21% (P = .001).
• The frequency of anesthesia consultations for known or suspected OSA initiated by nursing staff rose from 5% to 26% (P = .0001).

Conclusions:

• Educational interventions and standardized screening tools like the STOP-BANG Questionnaire enhance the identification of high-risk OSA patients.
• This initiative successfully increased the proportion of identified high-risk OSA patients and subsequent anesthesia consultations.