Value of pulse oximetry watch for diagnosing pediatric obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome

Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of pulse oximetry watch (POW) for diagnosing pediatric Obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS).

Methods: We selected 32 children (boys: 25, 4–16 years old) who came to the hospital for diagnosing OSAHS from July to October 2016. Polysomnography (PSG) and POW were used simultaneously and recorded the apnea hypopnea index (AHI), LSpO₂, and ODI₄. Pearson analysis, t test, and receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) were used to analyze the correlation between PSG-AHI and other indicators, the diagnosis accordance rate, and the sensitivity and specificity of POW, respectively.

Results: According to PSG-AHI, 32 children were divided into two groups: primary snoring (n?=?5) and OSAHS (n?=?27). There was no significant difference between PSG-ODI₄ and POW-ODI₄ (p?>?.05). A statistically significant correlation between PSG-AHI and POW-ODI₄ was found (r?=?.719, p?1, 5, 10, 15, and 20 events/h, the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.685 (p?>?.05), 0.733, 0.798, 0.922, and 0.929 (p?20 events/h level, whereas the sensitivity and specificity were unacceptable (<75%) at the level of AHI >1, 5, 10, and 15 events/h.

Conclusions: POW cannot replace PSG to diagnose pediatric OSAHS because of low sensitivity and specificity, but can be used for screening severe OSAHS in children.