Pulse transit time and assessment of childhood sleep disordered breathing

Abstract

Objectives: To compare nocturnal polysomnography (PSG) with pulse transit time (PTT) recordings and structured clinical assessments and assess the reliability of these methods as a surrogate for the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI; calculated as the number of apneas/hypopneas per hour of total sleep time) and to test the associations between the clinical assessments and sleep disordered breathing (SDB). Design: Prospective observational study. The parents of 51 children and adolescents filled out a questionnaire on SDB and the participants underwent examination. Scores from questionnaire and examination items were weighted according to their association with SDB. A total clinical score was assigned combining questionnaire and examination scores. Setting: Hospital pediatrics department. Patients: Children and adolescents aged 5 to 17 years undergoing standard PSG with the addition of PTT as part of a clinical investigation for SDB.Main Outcome Measures: The AHI and associations between the AHI and PTT arousal index (PTT-AI) and questionnaire, examination, and total clinical scores. Results: We found a significant correlation between the AHI and PTT-AI (r=0.55; P