Sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, have become a significant health issue in the United States. It is estimated that 22 million Americans have sleep apnea, with 80% of cases of moderate and severe OSA going undiagnosed. This number continues to increase with the obesity epidemic. Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is associated with multiple cardiopulmonary diseases and has been shown to affect disease outcomes adversely. Hospitalized patients have a disproportionately high prevalence of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Screening for SDB in hospitalized patients provides an opportunity to identify the disease in individuals whose disease otherwise may go unrecognized. Data suggest that identification of SDB in hospitalized individuals may have a positive impact on a patient’s course after hospitalization. Unfortunately, sleep medicine currently remains an ambulatory practice. Hospital sleep medicine addresses this separation. Herein, we discuss our experience and the future potential of hospital sleep medicine programs.

睡眠障碍，包括睡眠呼吸暂停，已成为美国的一个重要健康问题。据估计，有 2200 万美国人患有睡眠呼吸暂停症，其中 80% 的中度和重度 OSA 病例未被确诊。随着肥胖的流行，这个数字继续增加。睡眠呼吸障碍 (SDB) 与多种心肺疾病有关，并已被证明会对疾病结果产生不利影响。住院患者的心血管和呼吸系统疾病患病率高得不成比例。在住院患者中筛查 SDB 提供了一个机会来识别那些可能无法识别疾病的个体的疾病。数据表明，在住院患者中识别 SDB 可能对患者住院后的病程产生积极影响。很遗憾，睡眠医学目前仍然是一种门诊实践。医院睡眠医学解决了这种分离问题。在此，我们讨论我们的经验和医院睡眠医学项目的未来潜力。