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Obstructive Sleep ApneaVSATTNCT00880165

Cost Effectiveness of Ambulatory Management for Veterans With Sleep Apnea

A study testing Continuous positive airway pressure apparatus in people with Obstructive Sleep Apnea, run by US Department of Veterans Affairs at 2 sites in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

This research study is comparing home and in-laboratory testing of veterans with suspected obstructive sleep apnea, a common breathing disorder during sleep. It is hoped that home testing will be equally effective in improving quality of life but have lower cost than in-lab testing. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 90 years
Conditions the study is for
Obstructive Sleep Apnea
What is being tested?
Continuous positive airway pressure apparatus
Type of treatment
Medical device
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
296 participants
Where
2 sitesUnited States
Study dates
Nov 2006to Jan 2010
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 90 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Individuals willing to participate must meet the following eligibility criteria prior to enrollment:
  • Patients referred for a sleep evaluation for suspected sleep apnea.
  • Age 18 years or older
  • Living within 90 miles of the Sleep Center.

Who cannot join

  • Individuals will be excluded from the study for the following reasons:
  • Unable or unwilling to provide informed written consent.
  • Lack of telephone access or inability to return for follow-up testing.
  • A history of prior sleep evaluations, OSA treatment, or sleep disorder in addition to OSA.
  • A clinically unstable chronic medical condition as defined by a new diagnosis or change in medical management in the previous 3 months of cardiac disease, thyroid disease, diabetes, depression or psychosis, cirrhosis, or recently diagnosed cancer.
  • Individuals already on long term oxygen therapy or requiring bilevel positive airway pressure.
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  • Individuals with rotating shift work or irregular work schedules over the last 6 months.
  • Suspected or confirmed to be pregnant. A pregnancy test will be performed using the urine sample obtained at the initial visit.
  • Inability to complete the Assessment Battery - e.g. less than a 5th grade reading level

Trial locations and contacts

2 sites in 1 country.

United States2 sites
  • Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104-6128

  • VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System

    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15240

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Cost Effective Strategy to Evaluate Veterans With Sleep Apnea

This research study is comparing home and in-laboratory testing of veterans with suspected obstructive sleep apnea, a common breathing disorder during sleep. It is hoped that home testing will be equally effective in improving quality of life but have lower cost than in-lab testing. These findings will allow veterans to have greater access to diagnosis and treatment of their sleep apnea.

Read the detailed description

Objective: The overall goal of the project is to improve access to care for veterans with suspected obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a breathing disorder during sleep characterized by repetitive closure of the pharyngeal airway. Portable monitors are commercially available to diagnose participants with suspected OSA and establish the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) setting needed for treatment. Their application to home testing is not widely accepted because it is not known whether home testing, when compared to conventional in-lab polysomnograms, is cost effective and produces similar outcomes with regard to participant adherence to CPAP treatment and improvements in functional impairment. The specific goals of the proposed research are to address these barriers by comparing the functional impact, cost, and cost-effectiveness of evaluating veterans with suspected OSA using home versus in-lab testing.

Research Design: In this prospective randomized control trial of equivalency, participants referred to the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh VA Medical Centers for evaluation for OSA will be randomized to either exclusively in-lab or home testing following baseline assessment.

Methodology: In-lab polysomnograms will be performed to diagnose OSA and titrate the pressure setting for subsequent CPAP therapy. Self-administered home testing will consist of an overnight unattended sleep study followed by a 1-week autoCPAP titration trial. Objectively assessed CPAP adherence and its consequent effects on subjective and objective daytime sleepiness, disease specific and general functional impairment, and participant preference will be obtained at 1- and 3-months after starting CPAP treatment and 3-monthly thereafter to the end of study follow-up. Medical service use and cost will be collected for the entire observation period.

Aim 1 will determine if participants with suspected OSA who receive home testing have the same adherence to subsequent CPAP treatment and the same functional outcomes as participants receiving in-lab testing. Primary outcome measures will be 1) objectively measured adherence to CPAP treatment and 2) the global score on the Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire (FOSQ) to assess the consequent effects of adherence on disease specific functional impairment. Secondary functional outcome measures will assess subjective (Epworth Sleepiness Scale) and objective (Psychomotor Vigilance Test) daytime sleepiness, and general quality of life (SF-12). Hypothesis 1: Despite differences between in-lab versus home testing in terms of technology, time participants interact with health care professionals, and environment, there is no clinically significant decline in mean CPAP adherence and no clinically significant reduction in functional outcomes in participants receiving home versus in-lab testing.

Aim 2 will compare the differences in cost and quality-adjusted life years saved (QALYS) between home versus in-lab testing to estimate a cost-effectiveness ratio. Participant preference will be assessed with the EuroQol (EQ-5D) and Health Utilities Index 2 (HUI). Hypothesis 2a: Average total health-care delivery cost is lower for veterans receiving home testing relative to those receiving in-lab testing. Hypothesis 2b: Because we believe that at-home testing will have lower costs and equivalent outcomes, we will be 90% confident that the cost per QALY ratio comparing at-home testing with in-lab testing will be less than $100,000.

Clinical Relationship: We need to determine the most cost effective way to diagnose veterans with OSA and initiate them on CPAP treatment. If the results show that home testing produces clinical outcomes that are not significantly clinically inferior and similar or reduced costs compared with in-lab testing, decision makers can be confident that home monitors can be used to diagnose and treat OSA and that improving veterans' access to care for OSA need not require construction of additional, costly sleep labs.

Findings: We anticipate that the results of Aim 1 will demonstrate that participants receiving in-lab versus home testing have similar clinical outcomes. We further anticipate that Aim 2 will demonstrate that home testing is more cost effective than in-lab testing. If confirmed, these findings will lead to wide acceptance of home portable monitor testing and increase veteran access to care.

Being tested
Continuous positive airway pressure apparatus
Keywords
Polysomnogram, Continuous positive airway pressure
Medical subject headings
Sleep Apnea, Obstructive

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Continuous positive airway pressure apparatusDevice

    Also called CPAP

    Veterans randomized to both arms who are diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea will be started on treatment with continuous positive airway pressure.

Study groups in NCT00880165
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Arm 1Active comparatorIn-laboratory testing followed by continuous positive airway pressure treatment
Receives: Device: Continuous positive airway pressure apparatus
Arm 2Active comparatorHome unattended testing followed by continuous positive airway pressure treatment
Receives: Device: Continuous positive airway pressure apparatus

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Cost

    VA sleep-study and treatment medical service use will be derived from the case report form; and costed out using VA acquisition costs. Other medical service use will be derived from VA administrative records. Non-VA medical service use will be derived from patient interview and will be costed out using federal reimbursement schedules. Costs will be stratified by whether or not they are related to the diagnosis and treatment of OSA.Cost and preferences are assessed for each entire arm.

    Measured: Medical service use and cost will be collected every 3 months for the entire observation period. Thus the shortest duration of follow-up in the study is anticipated to be 3 months, while the longest will be 2.25 years.

Secondary outcomes (2)
  1. Functional Outcome of Sleep Questionnaire

    Change score from baseline of self-administered validate questionnaire of functional outcome following 3 months of positive airway pressure treatment

    Measured: 3 months

  2. Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Adherence

    Mean daily hours of use of continuous positive airway pressure over the 3 month intervention

    Measured: 3 months

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted13 Apr 2009 (estimated)
  2. Study startNov 2006
  3. Primary completionJul 2009
  4. Study completionJan 2010

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Diagnosis
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
296 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00880165
Sponsor's protocol ID
IIR 04-021
Acronym
VSATT
Status last verified
Mar 2014
First submitted
10 Apr 2009
Last updated
21 Apr 2014
Data monitoring committee
Yes

Publications

  • Sunwoo B, Kuna ST. Ambulatory management of patients with sleep apnea: is there a place for portable monitor testing? Clin Chest Med. 2010 Jun;31(2):299-308. doi: 10.1016/j.ccm.2010.02.003.

    PubMed 20488288
  • Kuna ST, Gurubhagavatula I, Maislin G, Hin S, Hartwig KC, McCloskey S, Hachadoorian R, Hurley S, Gupta R, Staley B, Atwood CW. Noninferiority of functional outcome in ambulatory management of obstructive sleep apnea. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2011 May 1;183(9):1238-44. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201011-1770OC. Epub 2011 Jan 21.

    PubMed 21471093

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Continuous positive airway pressure apparatus in people with Obstructive Sleep Apnea, run by US Department of Veterans Affairs at 2 sites in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 9 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 21 Apr 2014. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 2 sites in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 21 Apr 2014). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Cost (time frame: Medical service use and cost will be collected every 3 months for the entire observation period. Thus the shortest duration of follow-up in the study is anticipated to be 3 months, while the longest will be 2.25 years.). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00880165, which also lists 2 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 21 Apr 2014.

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