[Clinical application of the Epworth sleepiness score in pregnant women with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome].
OBJECTIVE
To provide a convenient method for screening obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) in pregnant women.


METHODS
Seventy-eight pregnant women with suspected OSAHS were calculated for the EP index using Epworth sleepiness score (ESS) with also measurement of the neck circumference (NC) and body mass index (BMI). The apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) was calculated and the lowest SaO(2) (LSaO(2)) measured through a 7-h polysomnography (PSG). The women were then divided into 4 groups according to the AHI and LSaO(2). The ESS was compared with the PSG-AHI and the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was generated.


RESULTS
All the clinical indexes (NC, BMI, EP, AHI, and LSaO(2)) showed significant differences between the 4 groups (P<0.05). EP and PSG were found to have greater correlations to AHI (r=0.759, P=0.000) than NC (r=0.668) and BMI (r=0.663). The area under the ROC of the EP (0.825) was greater than that of NC (0.772) and BMI (0.784). The index of EP showed greater clinical diagnostic value of OSAHS in pregnancy. Base on the ROC, EP at the optimal operating point of 7.5 had a sensitivity of 76.8% and specificity of 68.2% for diagnosis of OSAHS in pregnant women.


CONCLUSIONS
The ESS is an economic and convenient method for screening OSAHS in pregnant women with high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity.
Department of Sleep, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.
Zhong
Z
Xu
Hong
H
Ye
Tao-ping
TP
Li
Dun-jin
DJ
Chen
Hui-shu
HS
Liu
Chun-huan
CH
Gao
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017286:Polysomnography; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult