Structured Testing and Treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation

NCT ID: NCT06263608

Last Updated: 2025-09-15

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

209 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2024-02-23

Study Completion Date

2028-02-29

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

The main goal of this prospective pre-post implementation study is to investigate how a structured testing and treatment program for obstructive sleep apnea using the NOX T3s device and a Fitbit smartwatch with the FibriCheck algorithm impacts the proportion of atrial fibrillation (AF) in an AF population.

Participants will wear the NOX T3s respiratory polygraphy device for one night at home. In case of a positive obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis, patients will be referred to the sleep clinic for a polysomnography examination. Patients positively diagnosed with polygraph will be monitored semi-continuously with the Fitbit smartwatch for three months. After the polysomnography examination, the positively diagnosed patients will be monitored semi-continuously for another three months after initiation of treatment (mostly continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment). Additionally, patients will be administered satisfaction, symptom burden and alcohol consumption questionnaires twice: right after the polysomnography examination and after the 3-month treatment.

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most prevalent arrhythmia globally. Research has shown that AF is associated with various risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and obstructive sleep apnea. Obstructive sleep apnea is a sleep-disordered breathing condition that is highly prevalent in AF patients, contributing to the development and progression of AF.

Despite the high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea in AF patients (about 62%), it often goes underrecognized and underdiagnosed. Lack of symptom reporting and easily accessible screening tools and strategies contribute to this underdiagnosis. The standard diagnostic method is through polysomnography, which, while effective, has drawbacks such as high costs, labor intensity, and time-consuming nature, making it challenging to use as a screening tool. (Cardio)respiratory polygraphy devices, such as the NOX-T3s, are gaining interest for obstructive sleep apnea detection due to their user-friendly nature, comfort, convenience, and home useability. A previous validation study showed that the NOX-T3s polygraphy device had high accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity and was also the most user-friendly for obstructive sleep apnea detection in AF patients.

Besides the screening, retrospective research has shown that obstructive sleep apnea treatment with the gold standard method, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), positively influences AF recurrence through improved antiarrhythmic therapy. Current literature suggests early obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis, followed by early CPAP treatment, could reduce AF recurrence. However, prospective studies supporting this are lacking. Therefore, additional information on the heart rhythm of AF patients, monitored in a (semi)-continuous manner before and after treatment initiation, would be valuable to investigate if treatment (mostly CPAP) leads to a reduction in AF events.

However, implementing a care pathway using the NOX T3s for structured obstructive sleep apnea testing and the Fitbit Versa smartwatch with the FibriCheck algorithm for the follow-up of AF recurrence in standard clinical care in an AF population still needs to be evaluated.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Atrial Fibrillation Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Symptomatic AF patients

Eligible participants will use the NOX T3s polygraphy device for one night at home. If they have a positive obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis, they will be referred to a polysomnography examination, and subsequently treatment. Participants will also receive 3 to 6 months of semi-continuous heart rhythm monitoring with the Fitbit smartwatch (depending on whether they get treatment after obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis via polysomnography).

Group Type OTHER

(Cardio)Respiratory polygraphy (NOX T3s)

Intervention Type DEVICE

This home-based device enables the detection of obstructive sleep apnea by calculating the apnea hypopnea index (AHI).

Polysomnography

Intervention Type DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Polysomnography allows both sleep and respiration monitoring during an overnight stay in a dedicated sleep clinic.

Devices to deliver Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) or Adaptive support ventilation (ASV)

Intervention Type DEVICE

Devices can be used to deliver CPAP, BiPAP, or ASV treatment to open up the airways, making breathing during sleep possible.

Fitbit smartwatch

Intervention Type DEVICE

The smartwatch enables the semi-continuous monitoring of the heart rhythm via the installed FibriCheck algorithm.

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

(Cardio)Respiratory polygraphy (NOX T3s)

This home-based device enables the detection of obstructive sleep apnea by calculating the apnea hypopnea index (AHI).

Intervention Type DEVICE

Polysomnography

Polysomnography allows both sleep and respiration monitoring during an overnight stay in a dedicated sleep clinic.

Intervention Type DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

Devices to deliver Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) or Adaptive support ventilation (ASV)

Devices can be used to deliver CPAP, BiPAP, or ASV treatment to open up the airways, making breathing during sleep possible.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Fitbit smartwatch

The smartwatch enables the semi-continuous monitoring of the heart rhythm via the installed FibriCheck algorithm.

Intervention Type DEVICE

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* Patients in whom AF (paroxysmal or persistent) is diagnosed with a 12-lead ECG
* Patients who experience symptoms of their AF (mEHRA ≥ 2a)
* Older than 18 years
* Owning a smartphone compatible with Fitbit and FibriCheck applications (i.e. recent versions of Apple iOS or Android drivers)
* Ability to sign the informed consent

Exclusion Criteria

* Patients diagnosed with permanent AF or only atrial flutter
* Prior/recent polysomnography evaluation
* Prior/active CPAP/BiPAP/ASV treatment
* Cognitive impairment
* Inability to speak or fully understand Dutch
* Pacemaker-dependent heart rhythm
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

Meet the organizations funding or collaborating on the study and learn about their roles.

Jessa Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Hasselt University

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Universiteit Antwerpen

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University Hospital, Antwerp

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

Identify the individual or organization who holds primary responsibility for the study information submitted to regulators.

Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Learn about the lead researchers overseeing the trial and their institutional affiliations.

Hein Heidbuchel, MD, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University Hospital of Antwerp

Locations

Explore where the study is taking place and check the recruitment status at each participating site.

University Hospital of Antwerp

Edegem, , Belgium

Site Status RECRUITING

Jessa Hospital

Hasselt, , Belgium

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

Review the countries where the study has at least one active or historical site.

Belgium

Central Contacts

Reach out to these primary contacts for questions about participation or study logistics.

Lien Desteghe, MSc, PhD

Role: CONTACT

+32 3 821 33 06

Facility Contacts

Find local site contact details for specific facilities participating in the trial.

Lien Desteghe, MSc PhD

Role: primary

Lien Desteghe, MSc PhD

Role: primary

Other Identifiers

Review additional registry numbers or institutional identifiers associated with this trial.

BUN B3002023000204

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

More Related Trials

Additional clinical trials that may be relevant based on similarity analysis.

Sleep Apnea Screening
NCT02569749 TERMINATED
SensAwake™ Sleep Quality Trial
NCT00811213 COMPLETED PHASE4
OSA Homemonitoring
NCT03213236 WITHDRAWN NA