Value of pulse oximetry watch for diagnosing pediatric obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of pulse oximetry watch (POW) for diagnosing pediatric Obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).Methods: We selected 32 children (boys: 25, 4–16 years old) who came to the hospital for diagnosing OSAHS from July to October 2016. Polysomnography (PSG) and POW were used simultaneously and recorded the apnea hypopnea index (AHI), LSpO2, and ODI4. Pearson analysis, t test, and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) were used to analyze the correlation between PSG-AHI and other indicators, the diagnosis accordance rate, and the sensitivity and specificity of POW, respectively.Results: According to PSG-AHI, 32 children were divided into two groups: primary snoring (n = 5) and OSAHS (n = 27). There was no significant difference between PSG-ODI4 and POW-ODI4 (p > .05). A statistically significant correlation between PSG-AHI and POW-ODI4 was found (r = .719, p < .001). When PSG-AHI >1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 events/h, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.685 (p > .05), 0.733, 0.798, 0.922, and 0.929 (p < .05), respectively. There were high levels of sensitivity (83.33%) and specificity (92.31%) in the OSAHS with AHI >20 events/h level, whereas the sensitivity and specificity were unacceptable (<75%) at the level of AHI >1, 5, 10, and 15 events/h.Conclusions: POW cannot replace PSG to diagnose pediatric OSAHS because of low sensitivity and specificity, but can be used for screening severe OSAHS in children.