The Value of Oxygen Desaturation Index for Diagnosing Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVES: Intermittent hypoxemia is a risk factor for developing complications in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients. The objective of this systematic review was to identify articles evaluating the accuracy of the oxygen desaturation index (ODI) as compared with the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and then provide possible values to use as a cutoff for diagnosing adult OSA. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic Review of Literature. METHODS: PubMed, the Cochrane Library, and SCOPUS databases were searched through November 2019. RESULTS: Eight studies (1,924 patients) met criteria (age range: 28-70.9 years, body mass index range: 21.9-37 kg/m2 , and AHI range: 0.5-62 events/hour). Five studies compared ODI and AHI simultaneously, and three had a week to months between assessments. Sensitivities ranged from 32% to 98.5%, whereas specificities ranged from 47.7% to 98%. Significant heterogeneity was present; however, for studies reporting data for a 4% ODI ≥ 15 events/hour, the specificity for diagnosing OSA ranged from 75% to 98%, and only one study reported the positive predictive value, which was 97%. Direct ODI and AHI comparisons were not made because of different hypopnea scoring, different oxygen desaturation categories, and different criteria for grading OSA severity. CONCLUSION: Significant heterogeneity exists in studies comparing ODI and AHI. Based on currently published studies, consideration should be given for diagnosing adult OSA with a 4% ODI of ≥ 15 events/hour and for recommending further evaluation for diagnosing OSA with a 4% ODI ≥ 10 events/hour. Screening with oximetry may be indicated for the detection of OSA in select patients. Further study is needed before a definitive recommendation can be made. Laryngoscope, 131:440-447, 2021.

Integrating the Divided Nasal Cannula Into Routine Polysomnography to Assess Nasal Cycle: Feasibility and Effect on Outcomes.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: Patients suspected to have sleep-disordered breathing underwent an overnight polysomnography using a divided nasal cannula to gain additional information about the nasal cycle during sleep. METHODS: This was a prospective, observational cohort study replacing the undivided nasal cannula with a divided nasal cannula during routine polysomnography (n = 28). RESULTS: Integration of the divided nasal cannula pressure transducer system into routine polysomnography was easy and affordable. Most patients (89%) demonstrated nasal cycle changes during the test. Nasal cycle changes tended to occur during body position changes (62%) and transitions from non-rapid eye movement sleep to rapid eye movement sleep (41%). The mean nasal cycle duration was 2.5 ± 2.1 hours. Other sleep study metrics did not reveal statistically significant findings in relation to the nasal cycle. CONCLUSIONS: Replacing an undivided nasal cannula with a divided nasal cannula is easy to implement, adding another physiologic measure to polysomnography. Although the divided nasal cannula did not significantly affect traditional polysomnographic metrics such as the apnea-hypopnea index or periodic limb movement index based on this small pilot study, we were able to replicate past nasal cycle findings that may be of interest to sleep clinicians and researchers. Given the ease with which the divided nasal cannula can be integrated, we encourage other sleep researchers to investigate the utility of using a divided nasal cannula during polysomnography.