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Can overnight portable pulse oximetry be used to stratify obstructive sleep apnea risk in infants? A correlation
Zarmina Ehsan1,2, Shan He3, Guixia Huang4,5
1Division of Pulmonary and Sleep Medicine, Children's Mercy-Kansas City, Kansas City, Missouri.
Insights
Overnight oximetry shows a significant correlation with polysomnography for infant obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). An oxygen desaturation index (ODI40) greater than 3 can help identify infants needing further evaluation for moderate to severe OSA.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Sleep Medicine
- Diagnostic Accuracy Studies
Background:
- Limited evidence exists on using oximetry to evaluate infant obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
- Overnight oximetry is a potential tool for stratifying infants at risk for OSA.
- Determining the urgency for polysomnography (PSG) is crucial for timely intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the utility of overnight oximetry in stratifying infants for OSA risk.
- To correlate oximetry-derived metrics with polysomnography findings.
- To determine if oximetry can guide the need for definitive PSG screening.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study of 38 infants undergoing both PSG and overnight oximetry.
- Correlated oxygen desaturation index (ODI40 and ODI410) with the apnea-hypopnea index (AHIo).
- Analyzed data from both in-hospital (attended) and at-home (unattended) oximetry settings.
Main Results:
- A statistically significant positive correlation was found between ODI and AHIo (ODI40 vs. AHIo [r = .59, P < .001]).
- An ODI40 cutoff of 3 demonstrated high sensitivity (86%) and positive predictive value (80%) for OSA (AHIo > 2).
- For moderate to severe OSA (AHIo ≥ 5), an ODI40 cutoff of 3 showed 100% sensitivity and 100% negative predictive value.
Conclusions:
- Overnight oximetry, specifically ODI40, significantly correlates with PSG findings in infants at risk for OSA.
- An ODI40 threshold greater than 3 appears useful for risk stratification of moderate to severe OSA.
- Oximetry can be employed in both attended and unattended settings to aid in OSA evaluation.
Introduction:
There is limited evidence on the accuracy of oximetry in the evaluation of infant obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We aimed to determine the utility of overnight oximetry to stratify infants at risk for OSA, to determine urgency for definitive screening with an overnight in-laboratory polysomnogram (PSG).
Methods:
Retrospective single-institution cohort study of infants undergoing PSG and a separate overnight oximetry over an 8-year period. Correlations, using oximetry in both in-hospital (attended) or at-home (unattended) settings, for ODI410 (decrease in oxygen saturation ≥ 4% from baseline, duration ≥ 10 seconds) and ODI40 (duration > 0 second) with the obstructive apnea-hypopnea index (AHIo) were obtained. The area under the curve was calculated, and sensitivity and specificity values have been presented as receiver operating characteristic curves.
Results:
Thirty-eight infants were included. The mean (SD) age (months) was 5.7 (3.9) at diagnostic PSG and 5.5 (3.7) at the time of oximetry. The mean AHIo for the entire cohort was 6.7 (6.2). The mean (SD) ODI40 was 8.6 (9.0) and the mean (SD) ODI410 was 5.4 (5.1).The correlation between ODI and AHIo was statistically significant for the cohort (ODI40 vs. AHIo [r = .59, P < .001] and ODI410 vs AHIo [r = .55, P = .0003]). Using an ODI40 cutoff of 3, the sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and positive predictive value for diagnosing OSA was: 86%, 40%, 50%, and 80% respectively for an AHIo greater than 2, and 100%, 35%, 100%, and 58% respectively for an AHIo greater than or equal to 5.
Conclusion:
There is a significant positive correlation between the ODI4 obtained from oximetry and the AHIo obtained from PSG in infants at risk for OSA. An ODI40 greater than 3 may be useful to stratify infants at risk for moderate to severe OSA when used in attended (in-hospital) or unattended (in-home) settings.
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