Validation of Embletta for Diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Chung, Hoon; Shin, Seung Youp; Lee, Kun Hee; Cho, Joong Saeng; Kim, Sung Wan

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, so many patients need a more convenient tool that is ambulatory. The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of Embletta by comparing the respiratory parameters derived from Embletta with those of PSG.
SUBJECTS AND METHOD
PSG and Embletta sleep study were performed for 42 patients prospectively. Respiratory parameters, such as apnea index (AI), hypopnea index (HI), apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), and oxygen parameters, such as lowest oxygen saturation (LSAT), mean oxygen saturation (MSAT), and oxygen desaturation index (ODI) were measured automatically from Embletta and by hand from PSG. All parameters of Embletta were compared with those of PSG. In addition, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) for Embletta were calculated for the diagnosis of OSA.
RESULTS
Most of the respiratory parameters and the oxygen parameters were well correlated between PSG and Embletta and the correlation coefficients were well correlated and statistically significant as well. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 90%, 75%, 0.9, and 0.75, respectively, for Embletta for the diagnosis of OSA.
CONCLUSION
Embletta might be clinically useful as a screening device of OSA patients based on its high correlation to PSG and positive predictive value.