Sleep Case Series, Part 2: Assessing and Managing the Symptom of Excessive Sleepiness in a Patient with an Abnormal Sleep-Wake Cycle
neuroscienceCME Medical Simulation
 | Patient Info: Paul is a 30-year-old African-American who is employed full-time as a police officer. He is married and has two young children. Paul reports being "tired all the time" and feeling physically and mentally drained over the last year. He is also having trouble concentrating at work and has fallen asleep on the job. His family and friends have told him he has become moody and irritable. |
This activity offers CE credit for:
- Physicians (ACCME/AMA PRA Category 1)
- Pharmacists (ACPE)
Credit Expiration Date:
Friday, March 26, 2010
 | Mary B. O'Malley, MD, PhD Program Director, Sleep Fellowship Norwalk Hospital Sleep Disorders Center Norwalk, CT |
The symptom of excessive sleepiness can be the manifestation of a number of underlying sleep disorders, each with different biological underpinnings, consequences, patient characteristics, and management strategies. Accurate differential diagnosis of a sleep disorder with the use of appropriate clinical tools is key to ensuring that optimal treatments are initiated. A number of distinct disorders can be responsible for or result from altered sleep-wake cycles, characterized by abnormal timing of the desire to sleep, the drive for wakefulness, or both. Clinically, these patients may experience both insomnia and excessive sleepiness, but at inappropriate times. This can result in impaired work and psychosocial function, as well as accidents, and often have multiple other medical and/or psychiatric comorbidities.(1) In spite of this, there is expert consensus that this population has been relatively neglected, and in some instances the diagnoses lack proper definition. In this interactive neuroscienceCME Medical Simulation, participants will navigate through a real-life clinical situation and hone their clinical decision-making skills by assessing and managing a patient with symptoms of excessive sleepiness and abnormal sleep-wake patterns.
- O'Malley MB. Treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness. CNS Spectrums 2007;12(Suppl 2):1-16.
To provide clinicians with strategies drawn from the latest evidence for assessing, diagnosing, and treating common sleep-wake disorders to improve patient outcomes.
At the end of this CE activity, participants should be able to:
- Identify symptoms characteristic of a sleep-wake disorder.
- Utilize diagnostic tools to improve the differential diagnosis of patients with sleep-wake disorders.
- Develop a treatment plan including both behavioral measures and, if warranted, pharmacotherapy, for patients with sleep-wake disorders.
Physicians, physician assistants, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals with an interest in sleep-wake disorders.
CME Outfitters, LLC, gratefully acknowledges an independent educational grant from Cephalon, Inc., in support of this CE activity.
CME Credit (Physicians):
CME Outfitters, LLC, is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. CME Outfitters, LLC, designates this educational activity for a maximum of 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Note to Physician Assistants: AAPA accepts Category I credit from AOACCME, Prescribed credit from AAFP, and AMA Category I CME credit for the PRA from organizations accredited by ACCME.
CPE Credit (Pharmacists):
CME Outfitters, LLC, is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. 0.5 contact hours (0.05 CEUs)
Universal Program Number: 376-000-09-006-H01-P
Activity Type: knowledge-based
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Mary B. O'Malley, MD, PhD
Mary B. O'Malley, MD, PhD, is the Fellowship Director for the Program in Sleep Medicine at the Sleep Disorders Center, Norwalk Hospital, Norwalk, CT. Dr. O'Malley is also a clinical instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at New York University. Dr. O'Malley also maintains a private practice in adult general psychiatry in Fairfield, CT.
Dr. O'Malley received her PhD degree in neurobiology from The Rockefeller University and her medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in New York. She completed an internship in internal medicine at Norwalk Hospital, followed by a fellowship in sleep medicine and a residency in psychiatry at New York University/Bellevue Medical Centers.
Dr. O'Malley is board certified in sleep medicine and psychiatry. She is a Laughlin Fellow of the American College of Psychiatry and is a member of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Dr. O'Malley has authored or coauthored in both basic and clinical research, including chapters in Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine and Clinical Handbook of Insomnia, and written a pocket reference manual on psychiatry for clinicians in training, The Saint Frances Guide to Psychiatry.
Disclosure Declaration
It is the policy of CME Outfitters, LLC, to ensure independence, balance, objectivity, and scientific rigor and integrity in all its CE activities. Faculty must disclose to the participants any significant relationships with commercial companies whose products or devices may be mentioned in faculty presentations, or with the commercial supporter of this CE activity. CME Outfitters, LLC, has evaluated, identified, and attempted to resolve any potential conflicts of interest through a rigorous content validation procedure, use of evidence-based data/research, and a multidisciplinary peer review process. The following information is for participant information only. It is not assumed that these relationships will have a negative impact on the presentations.
Dr. O'Malley has disclosed that she serves on the speakers bureau for Cephalon, Inc.
Unlabeled Use Disclosure
Faculty of this CE activity may include discussions of products or devices that are not currently labeled for use by the FDA. The faculty have been informed of their responsibility to disclose to the audience if they will be discussing off-label or investigational uses (any uses not approved by the FDA) of products or devices.
CME Outfitters, LLC, the faculty, and Cephalon, Inc., do not endorse the use of any product outside of the FDA labeled indications. Medical professionals should not utilize the procedures, products, or diagnosis techniques discussed during this activity without evaluation of their patient for contraindications or dangers of use.
Questions about this activity? Call us at 877.CME.PROS (877.263.7767).
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