Development and validation of a Score for Preoperative Prediction of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (SPOSA) and its...

Postoperative respiratory complications (PRCs) are associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and hospital costs. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), often undiagnosed in the surgical population, may be a contributing factor. Thus, we aimed to develop and validate a score for preoperative prediction of OSA (SPOSA) based on data available in electronic medical records preoperatively.

OSA was defined as the occurrence of an OSA diagnostic code preceded by a polysomnography procedure. A priori defined variables were analyzed by multivariable logistic regression analysis to develop our score. Score validity was assessed by investigating the score's ability to predict non-invasive ventilation. We then assessed the effect of high OSA risk, as defined by SPOSA, on PRCs within seven postoperative days and in-hospital mortality.

A total of 108,781 surgical patients at Partners HealthCare hospitals (2007-2014) were studied. Predictors of OSA included BMI >25 kg*m^-2 and comorbidities, including pulmonary hypertension, hypertension, and diabetes. The score yielded an area under the curve of 0.82. Non-invasive ventilation was significantly associated with high OSA risk (OR 1.44, 95% CI 1.22-1.69). Using a dichotomized endpoint, 26,968 (24.8%) patients were identified as high risk for OSA and 7.9% of these patients experienced PRCs. OSA risk was significantly associated with PRCs (OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.19-1.43).

SPOSA identifies patients at high risk for OSA using electronic medical record-derived data. High risk of OSA is associated with the occurrence of PRCs.