Patients presenting for colonoscopy: A great opportunity to screen for sleep apnea

To discover the prevalence and the feasibility of screening for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients presenting for routine colonoscopy.

Adult patients having a colonoscopy for routine indications at our outpatient endoscopy center were eligible if they did not carry a diagnosis of OSA or had not had a prior sleep study. All patients were administered the Berlin questionnaire prior to the procedure. Mallampati, neck circumference, height, weight, and BMI were obtained for each patient. Patients were observed for any drops in oxygen saturation < 92% or the presence of snoring for > 10 s. Patients were determined to be high-risk if they met at least 2 of the 3 symptom categories for the Berlin questionnaire.

A total of 60 patients were enrolled and completed the study; mean age was 56 years (range 23-72 year). Twenty-six patients had a positive Berlin questionnaire (43.3%), 31 patients had a negative Berlin questionnaire (51.6%) and 3 patients had an equivocal result (5.0%). Patients with a positive Berlin questionnaire were more likely to be of increased weight (mean 210.5 lbs vs mean 169.8 lbs, P = 0.003), increased BMI (33.0 kg/m²vs 26.8 kg/m², P = 0.0016), and have an increased neck circumference (38.4 cm vs 35.5 cm, P = 0.012). Patients with a positive Berlin questionnaire were more likely to have a drop in oxygen saturation < 92% (76.9% vs 36.4%, P = 0.01). Patients with snoring were more likely to have a positive Berlin questionnaire (8/9 patients vs 1/31 patients with negative Berlin questionnaire; P = 0.0045).

Risk for OSA is extremely common in a population presenting for a routine colonoscopy, and screening at the time of a colonoscopy offers an excellent opportunity to identify these patients.