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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sleep Sci 2021; 14(01): 77-81
DOI: 10.5935/1984-0063.20200042
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Contribution of pulse oximetry in relation to respiratory flow events in a home-based approach aimed at diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea

Eduardo Enrique Borsini
1   Hospital Británico de Buenos Aires, Sleep - Buenos Aires - Capital Federal - Argentina.
,
Magali Blanco
1   Hospital Británico de Buenos Aires, Sleep - Buenos Aires - Capital Federal - Argentina.
,
Glenda Ernst
1   Hospital Británico de Buenos Aires, Sleep - Buenos Aires - Capital Federal - Argentina.
,
Alejandro Salvado
1   Hospital Británico de Buenos Aires, Sleep - Buenos Aires - Capital Federal - Argentina.
,
Ignacio Bledel
2   Hospital Alemán de Buenos Aires, Sleep - Buenos Aires - Capital Federal - Argentina.
,
Carlos Alberto Nigro
2   Hospital Alemán de Buenos Aires, Sleep - Buenos Aires - Capital Federal - Argentina.
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Objective To compare pulse oximetry with manual analysis against all signals of respiratory polygraphy.

Material and Methods This retrospective study estimated sensitivity (S), specificity (Sp) and positive/negative likelihood ratio (LR+/-) of the oxygen desaturation index (ODI-test) and apnea-hypopnea index (AHI-reference).

Results 3854 patients (61.5% men) were included. Age, BMI, Epworth sleepiness scale and AHI were: 55 years (44-65), 30.9kg/m2 (27-36), 7 points (4-11), and 14 events/hour (6-25), respectively. 18% showed an AHI <5 events/hour, 34% = 5 and <15, 27% = or > 15 and < 30, and 31% > 30. The S, Sp, and LR+/- of ODI for AHI = 5 events/hour was 93%, 92%, 12 and 0.08 with an accuracy of 93%. For AHI = 15 events/hour, the values were: S 94%, Sp 94%, LR+ 15 and LR- 0.06 and 94% accuracy (r(2) Spearman: 0.92).

Conclusion In a population at a high risk for OSA, home-based pulse oximetry had a diagnostic accuracy > 90% when is compared against all respiratory signals obtained from simplified home sleep testing.

Oximetry - Diagnosis - Sleep Apnea Syndrome


Publication History

Received: 08 February 2020

Accepted: 01 August 2020

Article published online:
30 November 2023

© 2023. Brazilian Sleep Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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