Nóra Pető1, *Terèzia Seres2, Zoltán Szakács1, Veronika Fáy3, Jelena Karaszova3, Andrea Kontra3, Olivia Lalátka3, Gyula Domján4
Evaluation of the Brussells Questionnaire as a screening tool for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
1Department of Neurology, Hungarian Defence Forces Military Hospital, Budapest, Hungary
Head of Department: Zoltán Szakács, MD, PhD
2Doctoral School, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
Head of Department: Gyula Domján, MD, PhD
3Rehabilitation Centre, Combined Szent István and Szent László Hospital, Budapest, Hungary
Head of Centre: Veronika Fáy, MD, PhD
4Department of Clinical Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
Head of Department: Klára Gadó, MD, PhD
Summary
Introduction. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) has been recently shown to be associated with an increased risk of traffic accidents. Expensive and not widely available polysomnography (PSG) is the gold standard for diagnosing OSAS. The questionnaire developed by the Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Working Group in 2013 in Brussells (termed the Brussels Questionnaire) was created as a screening strategy for those who apply for a driver’s license.
Aim. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the Brussels Questionnaire for detecting OSAS.
Material and Methods. 285 patients who reported to the Sleep Disorders Centre of the Neurology Department of the Hungarian Defence Forces Military Hospital for the portable monitoring (PM) completed the Brussels Questionnaire. A score of 10 or higher out of 24 indicated a high risk of OSAS. The results of the questionnaire were then compared with the results of the PM as well as of the polysomnography (PSG) when available.
Results. After the comparison of the results obtained with PM and the Brussels Questionnaire, the sensitivity and specificity of the questionnaire were calculated and amounted 0.64 and 0.49, respectively. After the comparison of the results obtained with PSG and the Brussels Questionnaire, the sensitivity and specificity of the questionnaire were calculated and amounted 0.83 and 0.55, respectively. The score of 10 points was found to be the optimal cut-off value.
Conclusions. The Bruxelles Questionnaire is a simple screening tool for OSAS in candidates for driver’s license, with a sensitivity of 0.64 and a specificity of 0.49. Its specificity and sensitivity are similar to those of other frequently used questionnaires.
Introduction
Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a significant medical problem affecting at least 2-26% of the general population (1). It is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (2). It can also cause a significant decrease in the quality of life (1). In the recent years, the relationship of OSAS and traffic accidents have been studied. OSAS was found to be a risk factor for falling asleep while driving, which increased the risk of accidents and near-misses (3). The most common daily syptoms of OSAS include excessive sleepiness, which is probably the source of the increased accident rate in OSAS patients. Fortunately, current research indicates that adequate OSAS treatment, including the therapy with continous positive airway pressure (CPAP), decreases the risk of accidents to the risk of the general population (4). This emphasizes the importance of proper diagnosis and treatment.
Polysomnography (PSG) is the gold standard for diagnosing obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS), but is expensive and time-consuming (5), and therefore, cannot be used for screening. An effective screening tool may help detect patients who are at risk of having OSAHS so that proper diagnostic process can be initiated. Several questionnaires have been developed for this purpose (6).
The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) measures sleep propensity in order to differentiate persons with excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). The ESS is a simple, self-report questionnaire (5). It contains eight questions concerning the possibility of falling asleep in various daily situations, with answers on an interval scale from 0 to 3 (5). The Berlin Questionnaire (BQ) was designed to identify individuals at higher risk of OSAHS in primary care. It contains 10 questions divided into three cathegories (6):
– snoring severity,
– EDS, and
– history of hypertension or obesity.
The patient is subsequently cathegorized into a low or high risk group (6). The STOP questionnaire contains four forced-choice (yes/no) questions related to snoring, tiredness during daytime, observed apneas and high blood pressure (acronym STOP) (5). Persons answering positively two or more questions are considered at high risk of OSAHS. High risk for OSAHS is defined when two or more questions are answered positively. The STOP-Bang questionnaire was developed on the basis of the STOP questionnaire. The second part of the STOP-Bang questionnaire consists of the following criteria: BMI > 35 kg/m2, age > 50 years, neck circumference > 40 cm, and gender (male) (6). The 4-V is a tool for the identification of moderate to severe OSAHS and consists of four criteria (gender, blood pressure, BMI, and self-reported snoring) (6). Most of the questionnaires have already been validated. STOP-Bang and BQ are the most commonly used OSAS questionnaires in primary care (6).
The questionnaire developed by the Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Working Group in 2013 in Brussells (termed Brussels Questionnaire) was created as a screening startegy for those who apply for a driver’s license (7).
Aim
The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the Brussels Questionnaire for detecting OSAS.
Material and Methods
The materials for the study were collected from November 2015 to February 2016. 285 patients were enrolled: 111 women (38.95%) and 174 men (61.05%). 22 (7.72%) of the participants were younger than 30 years old, 263 (92.28%) were 30 years old or older. 150 (52.63%) subjects had BMI lower than 30, 86 (30.18%) of them were obese with a BMI of 30-35, and 49 (17.19%) were morbidly obese with BMI ≥ 35.
Patients who reported to the Sleep Disorders Centre of the Neurology Department of the Hungarian Defence Forces Military Hospital for the portable monitoring (PM) were asked to complete the Brussels Questionnaire. If needed, they were provided with a physician’s help in filling in the questionnaire. In patients in whom moderate or severe OSAS was suspected after PM and a consultation with a somnologist, the patient was referred for nocturnal, laboratory-based polysomnography (PSG). PSG recordings were subsequently assessed by an expert somnologist. Sleep stages were distinguished and the Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) was calculated according to the recommendations of the Task Force of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (4).
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Piśmiennictwo
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