New Zealand Paediatric Overnight Oximetry online learning module
Hone your skills and give it a go!
06 July 2021
The New Zealand Branch of the Australasian Sleep Association (ASA) has been working with the New Zealand Paediatric Sleep Medicine Clinical Network Group (CNG) to develop an online learning tool on the interpretation of overnight oximetry in paediatric sleep patients.
Due to the limited access to paediatric polysomnography nationally, overnight oximetry plays a significant role in the New Zealand Guidelines for the Assessment of SDB in Children. Oximetry can "rule in" obstructive sleep apnoea if positive and support identification of those at increased peri-operative risk if referred for surgery. Its use and interpretation requires learning and an appreciation of its limitations. The course encourages a standardised approach to equipment, reporting and interpretation in clinical practice.
The course was created and developed in 2020 and uses the Goodfellow Unit located within the Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Auckland as a platform.
The module is owned by the Paediatric Society of New Zealand (PSNZ) and funded through tripartite donations from the New Zealand branch of the ASA, Telemedicine PSNZ and the New Zealand Society of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery (NZSOHNS).
The course is based on the Australasian Sleep Association technical standard for the performance of overnight oximetry and provides an online course that can be undertaken anywhere anytime. On completion participants are eligible for 1 CPD hour along with certification.
The course is intended to assist paediatric and ENT trainees, paediatricians, ENT specialists, physiologists working in sleep laboratories undertaking studies on children, and general practitioners who have the necessary resources, to learn how to perform, interpret and report paediatric overnight oximetry studies. It is important to highlight that this learning tool focuses only on its use in children greater than 1 year of age suspected of OSA.
To enhance the learning experience there are multiple choice questions throughout the program and case studies are provided to practice writing standardized reports and interpret oximetries.
The course is free but password protected. To access the module go to https://www.goodfellowunit.org
- Register for Goodfellow if not already a member (takes 2 mins)
- Log into site
- Once signed in, look for your name on top right hand side
- Click on (“View my Learning Record”) and you will see 'Manage My Account’
- Click on the tab called “Courses”
- Choose “Paediatric overnight oximetry”
- Enter the password code Oxi06 and hit ‘submit’
Feedback is welcome to develop the course further.
