Home sensors may help detect withdrawal during sleeping hours

Abstract

Methadone patients typically take one dose a day in the morning. By the time they take their next dose, 24 hours later, they are not in withdrawal, but will be soon. Some patients may actually be near withdrawal before then if they are not getting enough methadone. A recent study has found that smart home sensors could help these patients, who might relapse if their nighttime withdrawal symptoms aren't addressed. One major complaint of people in early treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) is disrupted sleep — indeed, a problem for people who are dependent on opioids in general, including opioids for pain. A pilot study published in Pain Management Nursing by researchers from Washington State University showed that these sensors could provide information about overnight sleep problems for people recovering from OUD. The researchers found that the home sensors matched other monitoring methods (using videos and wires) for sleep disturbance 89% of the time. “One day, when people go home from addiction treatment, we could send them to a smart home sensor environment, so we can know remotely if they're struggling to sleep and getting up and down a lot,” said lead author Marian Wilson, a WSU nursing professor. “We know that poor sleep is a trigger for substance use and could lead to unintended overdose,” Wilson said. Wilson's study found that detecting issues such as breathing problems and physical movements could help alert health care professionals of the need for medication changes or other interventions. In addition, the findings validated what patients had been saying. “Our study confirms what people with opioid use disorder have been saying — their sleep can be restless and disturbed,” said Wilson in a press release from the university. “We need to appreciate that people may be suffering. There's a misconception that substance use is all about that euphoric ‘high.’ By the time people get into a methadone treatment program, they're usually just trying to feel normal.” In the future, patients don't need to come into the sleep lab to be observed, and instead could just use the home sensors in an unobtrusive way, with no videos or cameras, Wilson added. The research was conducted in a lab. The next step will be to test the home sensor in homes. The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Rayce Rudeen Foundation.