Evaluation of Surgical Learning Curve Effect on Obstructive Sleep Apnea Outcomes in Upper Airway Stimulation.

Authors

• Christopher Larsen
• Christopher Boyd
• Mark Villwock
• Armin Steffen
• Clemens Heiser
• Maurits Boon
• Colin Huntley
• Karl Doghramji
• Ryan J Soose
• Alan Kominsky
• Tina Waters
• Kirk Withrow
• Noah Parker
• Erica Thaler
• Reena Dhanda Patil
• Katherine K Green
• Eugene Chio
• Maria Suurna
• Amy Schell
• Kingman Strohl

Publication/Presentation Date

5-1-2021

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: An increasing number of facilities offer Upper Airway Stimulation (UAS) with varying levels of experience. The goal was to quantify whether a surgical learning curve exists in operative or sleep outcomes in UAS.

METHODS: International multi-center retrospective review of the ADHERE registry, a prospective international multi-center study collecting UAS outcomes. ADHERE registry centers with at least 20 implants and outcomes data through at least 6-month follow-up were reviewed. Cases were divided into two groups based on implant order (the first 10 or second 10 consecutive implants at a given site). Group differences were assessed using Mann-Whitney U-tests, Chi-squared tests, or Fisher's Exact tests, as appropriate. A Mann-Kendall trend test was used to detect if there was a monotonic trend in operative time. Sleep outcome equivalence between experience groups was assessed using the two one-sided tests approach.

RESULTS: Thirteen facilities met inclusion criteria, contributing 260 patients. Complication rates did not significantly differ between groups (

CONCLUSIONS: Across the centers' first 20 implants, an approximately 11% reduction operative time was identified, however, no learning curve effect was seen for 6-month or 12-month AHI or ESS over the first twenty implants. Ongoing monitoring through the ADHERE registry will help measure the impact of evolving provider and patient specific characteristics as the number of implant centers increases.

Volume

130

Issue

5

First Page

467

Last Page

474

ISSN

1943-572X

Published In/Presented At

Larsen, C., Boyd, C., Villwock, M., Steffen, A., Heiser, C., Boon, M., Huntley, C., Doghramji, K., Soose, R. J., Kominsky, A., Waters, T., Withrow, K., Parker, N., Thaler, E., Dhanda Patil, R., Green, K. K., Chio, E., Suurna, M., Schell, A., & Strohl, K. (2021). Evaluation of Surgical Learning Curve Effect on Obstructive Sleep Apnea Outcomes in Upper Airway Stimulation. The Annals of otology, rhinology, and laryngology, 130(5), 467–474. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003489420958733

Disciplines

Business Administration, Management, and Operations | Health and Medical Administration | Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods

PubMedID

32924533

Department(s)

Administration and Leadership

Document Type

Article