Sleep Medicine Academy Releases Statements on Home Apnea Testing

By Amy Orciari Herman

Edited by Susan Sadoughi, MD, and André Sofair, MD, MPH

The need for a home sleep apnea test must be determined using the patient's medical history plus a face-to-face (in-person or telemedicine) exam by a physician, according to a new position statement from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Among the group's other conclusions, published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine:

• Home apnea tests must be ordered by a physician, and the resulting data must be interpreted by a provider who's board-certified in sleep medicine or overseen by a certified physician.

• The raw data alone should not be used to make diagnoses, evaluate treatment efficacy, or make treatment decisions.

• Home apnea tests should not be used for general screening of asymptomatic individuals.

The above applies to adult populations. In a separate position statement, the academy recommends against using home sleep apnea tests in pediatric populations.