Clinical score:a simple tool to evaluate the severity of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome / 中国医师进修杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To develop a score based on clinical symptoms and signs for evaluating the severity of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAHS). Methods A total of 158 OSAHS patients were enrolled. Five clinical features,including habitual snore,sleep apnea,daytime sleepiness,obesity and hypertension were used to arrive at a clinical score and its value to evaluate severity of OSAHS was determined. Results The clinical score of the two assessors was (7.94 ± 3.22) and (7.62 ± 3.08) scores respectively and a highly significant positive correlation was obtained (r = 0.97,P= 0.00). The clinical score of mild (43 cases ), moderate(47 cases ) and severe OSAHS ( 68 cases ) was ( 5.53 ± 2.25 ), ( 7.66 ± 2.05 ) and (9.29 ± 2.27) scores respectively,and there was significant difference among three groups (P = 0.00). The general clinical score of the two assessors was (7.78 ± 2.68) scores,the apnea-hypopnea index was 37.15 ±19.53,and there was a significant positive correlation between them (r = 0.70,P= 0.00). By analysis of ROC curves, the cut-off values of clinical score for differentiating moderate-severe OSAHS from mild OSAHS was 7 scores, and the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy was 83.5%, 74.4% and 80.4% respectively. Conclusion Clinical score,with good reliability,validity and high sccuracy,is a simple method to evaluate severity of OSAHS.