Reliability of STOP-Bang questionnaire and pulse oximetry as predictors of OSA – a retrospective study

Objective To verify the reliability of a STOP-Bang questionnaire and objective blood oxygen concentration (SpO2) estimation by pulse oximetry as an indicator of patients' vulnerability to OSA, by correlating data of these two tests with that of the "gold standard" all-night polysomnography.Methods STOP-Bang score and pulse oximetry value (SpO2) for each patient were tabulated against the total sleep AHI score (obtained from subsequent all-night polysomnography) and analyzed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the STOP-Bang questionnaire and pulse oximetry.Results With sensitivity and specificity scores of 91.2% and 88.6%, respectively, positive predictive value 90.5%, negative predictive value 40.2%, the twin diagnostic test (STOP-Bang and pulse oximetry) was found to be highly congruent with the polysomnography (PSG), achieving a diagnostic accuracy of 85%.Conclusion Dental chairside screening by STOP-Bang questionnaire and pulse oximetry would be a good option, especially where logistic and economic constraints impede all-night polysomnography.