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

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), LSpO, and ODI. 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-ODI and POW-ODI (p > .05). A statistically significant correlation between PSG-AHI and POW-ODI 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.