Yan Yi Neo, Nicholas Chang Lee Wen, Rus Anida Awang
Unit Paediatric Respiratory, Department of Paediatric, Hospital Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Introduction :
Polysomnography is the gold standard diagnostic tool for paediatric obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) but it is not widely available nationwide. Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ) is a validated screening tool to identify patients with sleep disordered breathing at risk of OSA to undergo early polysomnography.
Objective :
This study aims to identify the correlation between PSQ scores and obstructive apnea-hyponoea index (OAHI) among Malaysian children.
Methodology:
Sixty-one subjects (2 - 18 years old) were recruited from January 2023 to December 2023. All demographic data and co-morbidities were recorded. All subjects were screened with PSQ and underwent polysomnography. Diagnoses of primary snorer and OSA are based on AASM International Classification of Sleep Disorders (Third Edition).
Results :
67% were male with the mean age 9.1 years. 56% had allergic rhinitis, 24.6% had bronchial asthma, 1.6% had hypertension and none had diabetes or pulmonary hypertension. Forty-three (70%) were diagnosed with OSA (Mean OAHI 12.8, SD: 15.9) and eighteen (30%) were primary snorer. Among those diagnosed as OSA, 21% were mild, 7% were moderate and 72% were severe. The mean PSQ for primary snorer and OSA were 8 and 7.6 respectively. Among all subjects, there were no correlation between PSQ scores and OAHI (r=0.181, p=0.239). However, among those with OSA, there was significant positive correlation between PSQ and AHI (r= 0.484, p=0.001).
Conclusion:
PSQ is not useful as a diagnostic tool for OSA but sensitive in stratifying disease severity among children with OSA.