OSA Diagnosis Simplified With Automated Measure of Nighttime Oxygen Levels

Computer analysis of blood oxygen levels could be an easy, inexpensive, and reliable diagnostic approach for pediatric obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSA), according to the results of a recent study.

Access availability and cost prevent a majority of children with sleep apnea in the United States from being thoroughly evaluated. The researchers hoped that by simplifying evaluation procedures and reducing cost, more children in areas with limited access to pediatric sleep facilities could be evaluated.
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Researchers evaluated nocturnal oximetry (nSpO2) measurements taken from a pulse oximeter from 4191 children from 13 pediatric sleep laboratories using a validated automated neural network algorithm comprised of 23 analytic features.

They compared the oximeter-based automated system against polysomnography, and found that data other than oximetry that was measured by polysomnography was of limited value.

Overall, the automated test detected about 75% of children with mild apnea, 82% of those with moderate apnea, and 90% of those with severe apnea.

“Neural network-based automated analyses of nSpO2 recordings provide accurate identification of OSA severity among habitually snoring children with a high pre-test probability of OSA. Thus, nocturnal oximetry may enable a simple and effective diagnostic alternative to NPSG leading to more timely interventions and potentially improved outcomes,” the researchers concluded.

—Michael Potts

Reference:

Hornero R, Kheirandish-Gozal L, Gutierrez-Tobal G, et al. Nocturnal oximetry-based evaluation of habitually snoring children [published online July 31, 2017]. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. doi: https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.201705-0930OC.