ABSTRACT

To perform validation tests of obstructive sleep apnoea screening (OSA) tests STOP-Bang and its short version STOP in a Turkish population.

In 110 adult patients who were admitted to the Sleep Clinic for polysomnography with an initial diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnoea, the STOP-Bang questionnaire was used to calculate the sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value and likelihood ratios.

In the study, no significant difference was obtained between two sexes for the presence of high risk of obstructive sleep apnoea (p>0.05). When apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) ≤5 patients and AHI >5 patients were compared, no significant differences were found in the values of age, sex and body mass index (p>0.05). Mean AHI value was 1.4 in AHI ≤5 patients, while it was 33.8 in AHI >5 patients (p<0.05). Although both STOP and STOP-Bang screening tests have a high sensitivity (>90%) in various severities of OSA (AHI >5, AHI >15 and AHI >30), their specificities were found to be low. As the severity of OSA increases, the positive predictive values of both tests were decreased, while the negative predictive values were increased.

STOP-Bang with its high sensitivity is a suitable bedside screening test for OSA.

Keywords: Sleep apnoea, obstructive, polysomnography, sensitivity and specificity