Sleep screening for cystic fibrosis patients: A survey of cystic fibrosis programs.

Abstract

The prevalence of sleep disorders in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) is unknown, and no standardized screening or treatment guidelines exist to address sleep disorders in CF. The objective of this study is to characterize current sleep screening practices in adult, pediatric, combined, and affiliate CF programs. A survey was developed in Research Electronic Data Capture and distributed to program directors of accredited CF programs in the United States. Eighty-eight program directors responded (36% adult, 43% pediatric, 16% combined, 3% affiliate, and 1% unidentified). Of the respondents, 68% were part of an academic institution, 24% were associated with an academic institution, and 8% were part of a community or private program. Program sizes ranged from less than 50 to more than 500 patients. Routine or informal sleep screening was not performed in 44% of adults, 29% of pediatricians, and 35% of combined and affiliate programs. Most programs (>80%) have access to otolaryngology and sleep medicine although not all of these programs refer patients for evaluation of sleep disorders. Most program directors (77%) perceive sleep disorders as a problem in CF and would recommend routine sleep screening. Possible barriers to sleep screening included clinic flow, screening fatigue, and lack of recommendations for sleep screening. Formal sleep screening is inconsistent among CF care centers although most survey respondents would recommend the inclusion of screening in routine CF care. Future work is needed to further evaluate the impact of sleep disorders in CF and determine best practices for standardization of sleep screening and treatment.