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

ABSTRACT

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