The Role of Telemedicine in the Treatment of Sleep Apnea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Trial Studies
Forogh Soltaninejad, Shahriar Banaei Ardestany, Mehrzad Salmasi, Shirin Mahmoudi Kohi, Babak AmraAbstract
Background:
The purpose of this study was to review the literature to determine the effect of telemedicine on clinical care outcomes of sleep apnea (SA) in the patient populations over the past 10 years (published between 2010 and 2020).
Methods:
In this meta-analysis or secondary study, the search terms, like telemedicine and SA, were used to locate studies on the effects of telemedicine on clinical outcomes published between 2010 and 2020. The search strategy was limited to studies of home or residential settings and there was no age limit for the subjects studied. We used the recommendations of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing the risk of bias in randomized trials.
Results:
Among all the enrolled publications, 18 articles were included in the final analysis. In this analysis, the effect size is reported as the standard mean difference. The mean daytime sleepiness score was significantly lower in the telemedicine group, with the pooled standard deviation difference in means of –0.14 (confidence interval (CI): -0.237, -0.042). Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) adherence and the physical aspect of the quality of life were significantly higher in the telemedicine group, with the effect size of 0.41 and 0.21, respectively (CI: 0.207–0.625), (CI: -0.391, -0.037).
Conclusions:
Therefore, we concluded that the telemedicine-based interventions in patients with SA were associated with increased CPAP adherence, improved physical aspect of quality of life, and reduced daytime sleepiness.