Comparison of [the STOP-Bang] and [the Modified Neck Circumference] obstructive sleep apnea screening questionnaires

This study was designed to determine the degree of correlation between two obstructive sleep apnea [OSA] questionnaires, the validated [STOP-Bang] questionnaire and [Flemons] Modified Neck Circumference [MNC]' questionnaire which had been used at our hospital for many years. With IRB approval and written informed patient consents, 197 adult outpatients presenting for gastroenterological procedures were randomly screened for OSA risk using both the STOP-Bang and the MNC questionnaires. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was used to measure the statistical dependence of the scores calculated from the two questionnaires. The Spearman's correlation between the STOP-Bang questionnaire score and the MNC questionnaire score was 0.82 [p < 0.001]. There is a strong correlation between the STOP-Bang and the MNC questionnaires as demonstrated in this study. Our successful experience with the MNC questionnaire justify conduction of a randomized controlled trial to test the validity of the MNC questionnaire

prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea characteristics in patients with Barrett's esophagus

An increasing number of patients with Barrett's espophagus present for diagnostic and/or therapeutic upper GI endoscopy. It has been our impression that a large number of these patients have history and characteristics strongly suggestive of obstructive sleep apnea [OSA], and are, therefore, more challenging to sedate during the upper GI endoscopic procedures. This study was conducted to prospectively quantify the prevalence of OSA characteristics in patients with Barrett's esophagus. Consented patients with Barrett's esophagus were prospectively screened for obstructive sleep apnea [OSA] risk using the modified neck circumference questionnaire. The study demonstrated a statistically significant association between Barrett's esophagus and high OSA risk when compared to the general GI endoscopy population