Delphi Consensus Excessive Daytime Sleepiness in OSA

A study will be performed using a modified Delphi process with an international expert panel to generate recommendation statements related to the differential diagnosis and management of patients with residual EDS in OSA (and relevant sub-topics) and to determine the level of agreement for each statement from the panel as a whole. The following topics will be covered:

• EDS: definition, evaluation/assessment, and tools
• Definitions of residual EDS in patients with OSA treated with primary OSA therapy
• Practical recommendations
• Management Consensus is achieved through iterative rounds of survey and revision to the statements until a pre-determined level of agreement is met (80% agreement).

Part 1: planning and evidence review

• Series of planning sessions with co-chairs and faculty leads
• Literature is reviewed/summarized
• Initial statements will be developed based on evidence Recommendation statements on EDS in OSA will be formulated and rated according to level of agreement on a 5-point Likert scale.

Part 2: Survey to achieve consensus

• Survey, based on the initial statements developed by faculty leads, will be developed to allow for vetting by full faculty group
• At least 3 rounds of review (2 remote and 1 live [virtual]) will be held to achieve consensus on each topic of interest and finalize consensus statements

Inclusion criteria

• Members of the panel include experts in sleep and respiratory medicine in North American and Europe.

Exclusion criteria

• Panelists who were not able to commit to all rounds of the modified Delphi process will be excluded.