Prediction models and morbidities associated to obstructive sleep apnea: An updated systematic review

Abstract

Objective: We aim to present a systematic review using a literature update on the performance of clinical questionnaires in predicting the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome compared with polysomnography considered as the reference test to confirm obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Source of evidence: Medline, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Scopus, and ScienceDirect. Methods: The article selection stage implemented the PRISMA diagram. Results: The selected studies state that the Berlin questionnaire, the Epworth sleepiness scale, the STOP questionnaire, the STOP-BANG questionnaire, the ASA checklist, and the No-SAS score are the best performing screening tools to predict obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, as their performance was evaluated for different thresholds of apnea hypopnea index obtained using polysomnography. Conclusion: The DES-OSA 50 and the No-SAS score are simples, effectives, and easy-to-implement scores to identify individuals at risk of sleep-disordered breathing; it can help clinicians decide which patients should be referred for polysomnography.