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. 2022 Jan-Mar;15(Spec 1):224-228.
doi: 10.5935/1984-0063.20200119.

Oxygen desaturation index as alternative parameter in screening patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea

Lalee Varghese  1 , Grace Rebekah  2 , Priya N  3 , Ashwin Oliver  4 , Regi Kurien  1
Affiliations

Oxygen desaturation index as alternative parameter in screening patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea

Lalee Varghese et al. Sleep Sci. 2022 Jan-Mar.

Abstract

Objectives: Assess reliability of oxygen desaturation index (ODI) as an alternative parameter to apnea hypopnea index (AHI) in screening patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Material and methods: Retrospectively two-year data on demography, anthropometric features, polysomnography (PSG) parameters [AHI, ODI, minimum oxygen saturation (SpO2), mean SpO2], and Epworth sleepiness score (ESS) were collected and analyzed.

Results: Study showed significant correlation of ESS with AHI, ODI, apnea-hypopnea percentage of sleep period time (AH%SPT), mean SpO2 and minimum SpO2 with highest correlation being with AHI. A Cohen's weighted Kappa analysis showed good concordance of 87.32% between AHI and ODI in classifying severity of OSA, with a significant R2 correlation of 0.84 on linear regression. An ODI>20 has a sensitivity of 96.6% and specificity of 69.6% in diagnosing severe OSA.

Conclusion: Good concordance between AHI and ODI makes nocturnal oximetry a less expensive tool to confdently screen patients with severe OSA.

Keywords: Apnea Hypopnea Index; Obstructive Sleep Apnea; Oxygen Desaturation Index; Sleepiness.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST The authors declare no confict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
A. Scatter plot showing apnea hypopnea index (AHI) versus oxygen desaturation index (ODI) with linear regression and 95% confdence interval. R2 linear 0.844, AHI=0.84 x ODI + 8.3; B. Bland-Altman plot of apnea hypopnea index (AHI) and oxygen desaturation index (ODI) where, X axis represents the average of AHI and ODI and the Y axis represents the difference of AHI and ODI (AHI-ODI). When the average of AHI and ODI is very low or high, the ODI tended to overestimate AHI.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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