Applying the New Evidence-Based Guidelines to Screen for Sleep Apnea in Hospitalized Patients: Sunil Sharma, MD

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"What we want to highlight to the sleep community is that it is very important to screen these patients at the time of admission to the hospital. Then, it becomes important to decide whether they need even treatment in the hospital, so just screening itself is not enough.”

Obstructive sleep apnea remains highly prevalent and substantially underdiagnosed among hospitalized patients, particularly those with cardiovascular and other high‑risk comorbidities. Undetected sleep-disordered breathing in this setting is associated with increased hospital readmissions, mortality, emergency department utilization, and longer lengths of stay, with downstream implications for both patient outcomes and hospital throughput. Recognizing sleep as a key driver of cardiovascular risk, clinicians are increasingly focused on identifying and treating sleep apnea during acute care episodes rather than relying solely on ambulatory detection.

At the 2026 SLEEP Annual Meeting, held June 14-17 in Baltimore, Maryland, Sunil Sharma, MD, section chief in the Division of Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at West Virginia University School of Medicine, presented a talk titled “Breathing Easy in the Hospital: Applying the New Evidence-Based Guideline.”¹ His presentation highlighted recently developed, comprehensive guidelines from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine that outline a structured framework for screening, managing, and transitioning hospitalized patients with suspected or confirmed sleep-disordered breathing.² These recommendations aim to alter the trajectory of patient outcomes by integrating sleep evaluation into standard inpatient care and ensuring continuity after discharge.

In an interview with NeurologyLive^®, Sharma discussed the high burden of undiagnosed sleep apnea in hospitalized populations and reviewed the real-time consequences of missed diagnoses. He emphasized the importance of systematic screening at admission, the need to determine which high-risk patients warrant in-hospital treatment, and the role of early intervention in reducing complications and length of stay. Sharma also underscored the critical importance of robust transition-of-care processes to ambulatory sleep services, noting that inadequate handoff after discharge can negate in-hospital efforts, whereas adherence to the guideline framework has been associated with reduced readmissions and improved mortality.

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REFERENCES
1. Sharma S. Breathing Easy in the Hospital: Applying the New Evidence-Based Guideline. Presented at: 2026 SLEEP Annual Meeting; June 14-17; Baltimore, Maryland.
2. Mehra R, Auckley DH, Johnson KG, et al. Evaluation and management of obstructive sleep apnea in adults hospitalized for medical care: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline. J Clin Sleep Med. 2025;21(12):2193-2203. doi:10.5664/jcsm.11864