The American Thoracic Society has released new clinical practice guidelines on sleep apnea, sleepiness, and driving risk on non-commercial drivers.
The new guidelines, which are an update of a 1994 ATS statement on this topic, appear in the June 1, 2013 American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine .
"Up to 20 percent of crashes that occur on monotonous roads can be attributed to sleepiness, and the most common medical cause of excessive daytime sleepiness is obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)," said Kingman P. Strohl, MD, program director, sleep medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, director of the Center for Sleep Disorders Research at Case Western Reserve University and chair of the committee that drafted the guidelines. "With these new guidelines, we aimed to provide healthcare practitioners with a framework for the assessment and management of sleepy driving in the evaluation of OSA."
The guidelines' recommendations include the following:
"Addressing the issue of drowsy driving requires the combined effort of physicians, patients, and policy makers," said Dr. Strohl. "The assessment for sleepiness before and with treatment of OSA, as outlined in these new guidelines, is an essential part of these joint efforts."
To read the article in full, please visit:
.
About the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine :
With an impact factor of 11.080, the AJRRCM is a peer-reviewed journal published by the American Thoracic Society. It aims to publish the most innovative science and the highest quality reviews, practice guidelines and statements in the pulmonary, critical care and sleep-related fields.
Founded in 1905, the American Thoracic Society is the world's leading medical association dedicated to advancing pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine. The Society's 15,000 members prevent and fight respiratory disease around the globe through research, education, patient care and advocacy.
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine