BARCELONA – CPAP providers looking to build physician referral networks have yet another CPAP benefit to crow about. Add migraine headaches to the list of ailments helped by CPAP.
This year’s Medtrade Orlando, scheduled for Oct 7-10 in the Sunshine state, can help providers capitalize on this growing market that extends well beyond the Medicare demographic.
The new research, presented at the recent annual meeting of the European Neurological Society (ENS), showed that CPAP treatment can decrease the frequency, intensity, and duration of migraine attacks. Medication use and lost days from work also went down.
In results presented at the 23rd ENS meeting in Barcelona, Hildegard Hidalgo, MD, from the Department of Neurology at Kamillus-Klinik in Asbach, Germany, said that 25% of patients with OSA also have migraines, and that the frequency of OSA in patients with migraine is similar to that in the general population.
According to a conference wrapup in the website Medscape, the researchers screened 314 potential participants with OSA. Inclusion criteria were an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) greater than 15 or greater than 5 with clinical symptoms (excessive daytime sleepiness, nonrefreshing sleep, sleep fragmentation, nocturia, decreased concentration, memory loss, or morning headaches), and a diagnosis of migraine according to International Classification of Headache Disorders, second edition, criteria.
Additional inclusion criteria were being free of migraine prophylactic medications, oxygen therapy, or other central nervous system medications, and not having any other neurologic or psychiatric disorders. In-hospital video polysomnography was performed.
Compared with baseline, polysomnography showed significant improvements at 1 year in AHI, mean duration of sleep-related breathing disorders, oxygen desaturation index (all P < .001), arousal index (P < .002), slow wave sleep (P = .031), and other measures. CPAP therapy significantly reduced migraine measures and disease burden.
CPAP-related educational sessions scheduled for Medtrade Orlando include:
Tuesday, Oct 8, 2013 – 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM
I Refuse to Do Portable Testing…Can I Survive?
Speaker: Harold Davis, Owner/CEO, Sleep Centers of Arkansas
Track: Sleep/Oxygen & Respiratory
Tue, Oct 8, 2013 – 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Are There Opportunities for Growth with Your Sleep Program?
Speaker: Susean Nichols, President, Millennium Management Services
Track: Sleep/Oxygen & Respiratory
Tue, Oct 8, 2013 – 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Tying the Knot: Legal and Regulatory Aspects of DME Joint Ventures with Hospitals and Health Care Systems for PAP and Other Sleep Services
Speaker: Daniel Brown, Managing Shareholder, Atlanta Office, The Health Law Partners, P.C.
Track: Sleep/Oxygen & Respiratory
Early bird registration is now open for Medtrade Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center, the largest trade show in the U.S. focused exclusively on HME. Medtrade is designed to give today’s providers the highest quality educational, networking, and advocacy opportunities—and the largest selection of HME products under one roof.
Significant savings are available to providers who register sometime in the next two months through early bird rates. Click here to register for Medtrade Orlando.