Clinicians' use of the International Classification of Sleep Disorders: results of a national survey.
OBJECTIVE
To determine clinicians' patterns of use of the International Classification of Sleep Disorders (ICSD) and their ratings of its utility and organization.


METHODS
A telephone survey was conducted in one clinician practicing at each of 206 sleep centers accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). Descriptive analyses were performed, and ratings for various sleep classifications were compared with ANOVA and post- hoc tests.


RESULTS
Clinicians at 230/251 (92%) of contacted centers agreed to participate, and data from 206/251 (82%) were actually collected. The ICSD was used by 91.7% of clinicians for clinical decision making but by lower percentages for billing or medical record keeping. Features of the ICSD pertaining to clinical descriptions and differential diagnosis were rated as most useful. The Association of Sleep Disorders Centers (ASDC) classification was rated more highly than ICSD in organization and ease of use. The ICSD and ASDC systems were rated more highly than other sleep disorders classifications in terms of organization, "fit" to patients, and ease of use.


CONCLUSIONS
The ICSD is used widely by clinicians, primarily for diagnostic purposes, and is preferred over more general sleep disorders classification systems. However, more favorable ratings for the ASDC compared to ICSD indicate the value clinicians place on easy-to-use, symptom-oriented classifications.
Buysse
Daniel J
DJ
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. buyssedj@msx.upmc.edu
Young
Terry
T
Edinger
Jack D
JD
Carroll
John
J
Kotagal
Suresh
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D038801:International Classification of Diseases; D007391:International Cooperation; D017286:Polysomnography; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires