Korean J Otorhinolaryngol-Head Neck Surg.  2008 Oct;51(10):878-882.

Clinical Value of ApneaLink(TM) in the Diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome

• Kim SH
• Eun YG
• Kim MG
• Cho JS
• Kim SW

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Overnight polysomnography (PSG) in a sleep laboratory is the standard method of confirming the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, PSG is expensive, time-consuming, uneasily accessible and labor-intensive, thus the need for ambulatory screening tests. The aim of this study was to find out the usefulness of ApneaLink(TM) by comparing respiratory parameters derived from ApneaLink(TM) with those of PSG.
SUBJECTS AND METHOD
A prospective study was undertaken using 40 patients for whom polysomnography and ApneaLink(TM) were performed. Apnea index (AI), hypopnea index (HI), and apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) from ApneaLink(TM) were obtained automatically and those from PSG were scored. All parameters were compared between PSG and ApneaLink(TM).
RESULTS
The correlation coefficience of AI, HI, and AHI, which are all attainable by both PSG and ApneaLink(TM), were 0.73, 0.53, and 0.78, respectively. The results of PSG and ApneaLink(TM) showed no statistical difference. The positive predictive value was 0.9, sensitivity 91% and specificity 73% in ApneaLink(TM).
CONCLUSION
ApneaLink(TM) might be clinically useful as a screening device of OSA and as a follow-up study of patients after surgery based on its high correlation with PSG and positive predictive value.

Keyword

Obstructive sleep apnea; Polysomnography; ApneaLink(TM)

MeSH Terms

Apnea
Humans
Mass Screening
Polysomnography
Prospective Studies
Sensitivity and Specificity
Sleep Apnea, Obstructive