The Sleep Unit shared between the Josep Trueta de Girona and Santa Caterina de Salt hospitals (Gironès) has carried out more than 3,000 diagnostic tests since it moved to the Martí i Julià hospital park. The service opened the new facilities in April of last year. During 2023, it treated 2,510 patients (not counting evaluations at outpatient clinics) and in the first two months of this year it treated 708. Since the new facilities came into service, the unit has carried out 3,022 diagnostic tests. Of these, some are performed at night (such as complete videopolysomnographies).
In these cases, patients spend the night in the unit, where their brain, muscle, cardiorespiratory activity, eye movement, position and snoring are monitored in order to make a precise diagnosis of the type of sleep disturbance they suffer. Throughout these ten months, between April and February, the unit has carried out 481 night tests, supervised by specialized nursing professionals. Monitoring makes it possible to identify brain waves that can determine whether the person is awake or asleep and the different phases of sleep, the level of oxygen in the blood, respiratory and heart rate, snoring and body position.
Patients with suspected sleep apnea are given a digital medical record and given an electromedical device (sleep polygraph) that they must use overnight at home to collect data while they sleep. During 2023, the Girona CAPs participating in the program evaluated 1,756 patients using a screening text that detects the risk of sleep apnea. Of these, 1,514 were referred to the CAP sleep nurse, who instructed them on how to perform the sleep polygraph test at home. The data collected is transferred through a platform to the specialist pulmonologists of the virtual sleep unit to be analyzed and, subsequently, the diagnosis and treatment to be followed are communicated to the patient.
The most complex cases – approximately 15% – were referred to the Sleep Unit for more exhaustive studies. Sleep apnea syndrome is a disease that affects 25% of people between 30 and 70 years old and increases with age and overweight.
