Best Practices in Recognition, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders: A Cases & Commentary™ Workshop for Primary Care Clinicians

This 15 minute workshop will be held in conjunction with the Best Practices in Primary Care program. The workshops will be available during the breaks in between sessions of the program.

Who Should Attend: 

All primary care clinicians (physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners) who are active in patient care.

Overview: 

Circadian rhythm sleep disorders are prevalent, underrecognized, and inadequately treated, owing in part to their varied symptomatology and lack of assessment skills among primary care clinicians. Circadian rhythm sleep disorders reflect misalignment between the biologic sleep/wake cycle and environmental demands and/or between the biologic clock and societal norms for bedtime and “wake time.” Characterized by insomnia at bedtime and excessive sleepiness during wake time, circadian dyssynchrony is debilitating across numerous cognitive, affective, and physiologic domains. Circadian rhythm sleep disorders comprise several distinct subtypes, including shift work sleep disorder, the most clinically significant and prevalent, advanced sleep phase syndrome, delayed sleep phase syndrome, and others. Short-term consequences stemming from circadian rhythm sleep disorders can be severe, including impaired cognition, motor vehicle accidents, and—among healthcare professionals—medical errors. More alarming, perhaps, are recent studies among patients with circadian rhythm sleep disorder suggesting an important link to cancer, cardiovascular disease, depression, and gastrointestinal and metabolic disorders. There is a need for primary care clinicians to provide an accurate diagnosis and initiate appropriate treatment for circadian rhythm sleep disorders in order to avoid the long-term health implications associated with these disorders and to ascertain patient and public safety.

This educational program therefore will present you with a unique case-based learning environment designed to integrate expert clinical experience with level-1 evidence from randomized controlled studies. Two objectives are served. First, clinicians will acquire a more in-depth understanding of the evidence-based recommendations in various guidelines. Second, clinicians will refine their clinical judgment by engaging in structured decision making—the art of medicine—that drives patient care.

In this interactive Cases and Commentary™ workshop, clinicians will be presented with case studies representative of the myriad issues in managing patients with circadian rhythm sleep disorders. Upon reviewing salient data—including patient presentation, risk factors, comorbidities, and prior medical and treatment history—the clinicians will develop a course of action in step-by-step fashion for patients presenting with circadian rhythm sleep disorders. Each selection will invite commentary from peers and expert facilitators.

Commercial Supporter:
This program is supported through an educational grant from Cephalon, Inc.

Learning Objectives:

1) Formulate a comprehensive and accurate approach to initial assessment of circadian rhythm sleep disorders, based on the pathophysiology of circadian rhythm dyssynchrony and its consequences on sleep symptoms, as well as on metabolism, cardiac function, cognition, and mood

2) Perform focused initial assessments with patients identified to have shift work sleep disorders and other circadian rhythm slesymptomatologyep disorders based on their telltale

3) Formulate initial treatment plans for shift work sleep disorder, advanced sleep phase syndrome, and delayed sleep phase syndrome via assessment of etiology, pathophysiology, patient comorbidities, age, medical history, and level of impairment

4) Monitor treatment responsiveness (improved Epworth Sleepiness Scale score and/or sleep log, affect, cognition, and function) for patients with shift work sleep disorder and other circadian rhythm disorders at 1-month follow-up from initial visit, and as needed, for improved long-term management and patient outcomes

Accreditation: ACCME

Primary Care Network, Inc. is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.