Home Sleep Apnea Testing is a Feasible and Accurate Method to Diagnose Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Stroke Patients...

To study the feasibility and accuracy of home sleep apnea testing (HSAT) in the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in a stroke rehabilitation unit.

Stroke patients referred to a neurorehabilitation center underwent OSA screening by means of HSAT within the Home Polygraphic Recording with Telemedicine Monitoring for Diagnosis and Treatment of Sleep Apnea in Stroke, or HOPES study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02748681). Feasibility was determined by evaluating the acceptability of recording quality. Patients in whom moderate OSA was diagnosed subsequently underwent unattended polysomnography (PSG) confirmation. Accuracy was studied by comparing the respiratory event index (REI)/monitoring time (MT) of screening HSAT with the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI)/total sleep time (TST) obtained during subsequent PSG with Bland-Altman plots. The influence of PSG-evaluated wake time and arousals on OSA classification was studied by comparing the AHI and REI of the same night.

A total of 265 patients (58 ± 9 years, 70% male) were screened. A total of 92% of HSAT studies were performed with acceptable recording quality. In total, 33 patients (63 ± 5 years, 58% male) with moderate OSA (REI ≥ 15 to < 30 events/h) were included in the HSAT/PSG comparison. The Bland-Altman plot shows acceptable limits of agreement from -19.5 to +16.4, with a mean difference of -1.33. The REI detected in the PSG night demonstrated no significant differences to the AHI and a high correlation (r = .97; P < .001). The 95% confidence interval of the Bland-Altman plots varied from -7.61 to +4.80.

These findings confirm a good feasibility and sufficient accuracy of HSAT attached in a stroke rehabilitation unit. Therefore, the authors suggest that American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommendations for HSAT should include stroke patients.