Disclosures: Steven D. Kim, MD: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest

Background and/or Objectives: Opioids and sleep have a complex relationship. At least 46% of patients on chronic opioids have been shown to have sleep disordered breathing on polysomnogram. There are two primary subtypes of sleep disordered breathing: central sleep apnea and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Many studies have evaluated the relationship between central sleep apnea and chronic opioid use, but less data exist on the relationship between chronic opioids and OSA. To screen for OSA, STOP-BANG questionnaire (SBQ), which has an 88-93% sensitivity for mild to severe OSA, is commonly used. We reviewed the usefulness and correlations of SBQ score for OSA in chronic opioid medication use patients.

Design: Retrospective chart review

Setting: Academic teaching center

Participants: Chronic opioid using patients

Interventions: Retrospective chart review of patients on chronic opioids

Main Outcome Measures: We collected and review the SBQ score as well as morphine milligram equivalent (MME) on chronic opioid medication use patients

Results: Of the 190 charts reviewed, 147 were included for OSA eligible. 92 had SBQ scores. 61% has intermediate or high risk scores on SBQ. 36 (39%) had low risk score, 39 (42%) had intermediate risk score and 17 (18.5%) had high risk for OSA score. However, no correlation was found between use of opioids, particularly when compared MME (average 24.8 MME for all groups; specifically low (24.88 MME), intermediate (22.4 MME) and high risk (22.1 MME) groups) to SBQ scores. No correlation was found between MME (MME < 20, MME 21-50, MME >50) and SBQ scores.

Conclusions: OSA is common, including in patients on chronic opioid medications. However, no correlation was found between the MME and SBQ score. This may suggest SBQ may not be useful in chronic opioid medication use patients.

Level of Evidence: Level III

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PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/chronic-opioid-use-and-sleep-a-retrospective-study/