Comparison of the value of the STOP-BANG questionnaire with oxygen desaturation index in screening obstructive sleep apnea in Germany

Purpose Despite polysomnography being the gold standard method of diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), it is time-consuming and has long waiting lists. Alternative methods including questionnaires and portable sleep devices have been developed to increase the speed of diagnosis. However, most questionnaires such as the STOP-BANG questionnaire (SBQ) are limited due to low specificity. This study evaluated the value of SBQ to screen for OSA and compared it with the oxygen desaturation index (ODI) and their combination. Methods This retrospective study included patients who completed the SBQ and underwent a night at the sleep lab or home sleep testing. The ODI was extracted from these sleep study reports. The combination of SBQ with ODI and their individual scores were compared with apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) in terms of their accuracy in diagnosing OSA. Sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) for different severities of OSA were calculated and compared. Results Among 132 patients, SBQ showed a sensitivity of 0.9 and a specificity of 0.3 to screen for OSA. As the severity of OSA increased, the sensitivity increased whilst specificity decreased for both measurements. ODI achieved an increased specificity of 0.8 and could correctly diagnose OSA 86% of the time which was better than SBQ’s 60%. For all severities of OSA, ODI alone displayed a larger AUC than SBQ and similar AUC to their combination. Conclusion ODI produced a higher specificity and AUC than SBQ. Furthermore, ODI combined with SBQ failed to increase diagnostic value. Therefore, ODI may be the preferred way to initially screen patients for OSA as an easy-to-use alternative compared to SBQ.