title: [The primary diagnostic significance of the epworth sleepiness scale in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the diagnostic usefulness of epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) in patients with OSAS.
  
  
  METHODS
  The questionnaire of the epworth sleepiness scale was used to evaluate 189 patients with OSAS and 42 patients with snoring. The results were compared to those of polysomnography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant differences in ESS-SP, AHI and sleep structure were found between patients with OSAS and patients with scoring. A significant correlation was found between ESS-SP score and AHI (r = 0.44, P < 0.01). The patients with OSAS had significantly higher scores than those without OSAS. The specificity of this method was 83% (snoring), 90% (mild OSAS), 79% (moderate OSAS) and 82% (severe OSAS).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ESS-SP is consistent with clinical diagnosis and could be used as a primary diagnostic method in patients with OSAS, especially in primary-care hospitals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Respiratory, General Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300052, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Baoyuan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Lixia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Meinan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017286:Polysomnography; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology