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Published on: December 6, 2016
Sleep apnea diagnosis varies with the hypopnea criteria applied
Laura B Ponsaing1,2, Helle K Iversen3, Poul Jennum4,5
1Danish Center for Sleep Medicine, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Nordre Ringvej 57, 2600, Glostrup, Denmark. laura_ponsaing@hotmail.com.
Purpose:
We aimed to evaluate the three hypopnea criteria, A and B from 2007 and the revised from 2012, proposed by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) for scoring sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBDs) in patients with acute stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA).
Methods:
Polysomnographies (PSGs) in patients with TIA or stroke were scored according to the A-, B-, and 2012-hypopnea criteria.
Results:
Sixty-three PSGs were eligible for hypopnea scoring. There was no difference in the number of patients diagnosed with the B- and 2012-criteria. Therefore, they are mentioned as one. Forty-seven patients (75 %) were diagnosed with SRBD using the A-criteria versus 57 patients (90 %) using the B/2012-criteria (p < 0.0016). In 30 cases, a change from A- to B/2012-criteria resulted in a change in diagnosis. Ten cases of "no SRBD" changed to mild/moderate/severe SRBD. An apnea hypopnea index (AHI) >15 is a typical indication of treatment. With the B/2012-criteria, we found an additional indication of treatment in 18 patients, compared to when the A-criteria were applied (p < 0.0001). Two of these patients were labeled as no SRBD with the A-criteria.
Conclusion:
The difference is significant between the AHIs achieved by the A- and the B-/2012-hypopnea criteria, with much lower AHIs achieved with the A-criteria. As SRBD treatment lessens the risk of complications, correct identification of SRBD patients is of the utmost importance.
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Respiratory depth measures the volume of air inhaled or exhaled during a breath. It can vary from shallow to deep and typically remains consistent when a person is at rest or asleep. Occasionally, individuals will automatically inhale deeply, known as sighing, which inflates the lungs with more air than normal breathing.
To assess respiratory depth, observe the degree of chest excursion or movement:

