Vol.96 No.11 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 96 No.11 November 2003
Using a Questionnaire to Diagnose Sleep
Apnea Syndrome
Mutsumi Kenmochi, Shigeki Sato and Yasuhiko Tanaka
(St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Yokohama-city Seibu Hospital)
Hirohito Nishino, Shigeru Kasugai and Izumi Koizuka
(St. Marianna University School of Medicine)
Toru Ohashi
(Hatano Red Cross Hospital)
We used a questionnaire to study sleep apnea syndrome (SAS) in 53 patients (46 males and 7 females) who were referred to our hospital complaining of sleeping disturbance, then the relationship between questionnaire-rated SAS score and factors, such as sex, age and obesity, and Epworth sleepiness scale was investigated. Overnight changes in questionnaire ratings and in the degree of apnea as examined using polysonography (PSG) and SpO2 were recorded. There was a statistically significant correlation between apnea-hypopnea index and SAS score, whereas there was no significant correlation between SpO2 level and SAS score. We conclude that our questionnaire can be used to diagnose SAS.
Key words : questionnaire, sleep apnea syndrome (SAS), SAS score, Epworth sleepiness scale, apnea-hypopnea index