title: Patients presenting for colonoscopy: A great opportunity to screen for sleep apnea.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To discover the prevalence and the feasibility of screening for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients presenting for routine colonoscopy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult patients having a colonoscopy for routine indications at our outpatient endoscopy center were eligible if they did not carry a diagnosis of OSA or had not had a prior sleep study. All patients were administered the Berlin questionnaire prior to the procedure. Mallampati, neck circumference, height, weight, and BMI were obtained for each patient. Patients were observed for any drops in oxygen saturation < 92% or the presence of snoring for > 10 s. Patients were determined to be high-risk if they met at least 2 of the 3 symptom categories for the Berlin questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 60 patients were enrolled and completed the study; mean age was 56 years (range 23-72 year). Twenty-six patients had a positive Berlin questionnaire (43.3%), 31 patients had a negative Berlin questionnaire (51.6%) and 3 patients had an equivocal result (5.0%). Patients with a positive Berlin questionnaire were more likely to be of increased weight (mean 210.5 lbsvsmean 169.8 lbs,P= 0.003), increased BMI (33.0 kg/m2vs26.8 kg/m2,P= 0.0016), and have an increased neck circumference (38.4 cmvs35.5 cm,P= 0.012). Patients with a positive Berlin questionnaire were more likely to have a drop in oxygen saturation < 92% (76.9%vs36.4%,P= 0.01). Patients with snoring were more likely to have a positive Berlin questionnaire (8/9 patientsvs1/31 patients with negative Berlin questionnaire;P= 0.0045).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Risk for OSA is extremely common in a population presenting for a routine colonoscopy, and screening at the time of a colonoscopy offers an excellent opportunity to identify these patients.
authors.affiliation: Glenn Harvin, Eslam Ali, Amit Raina, William Leland, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, United States.
authors.forename: Glenn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Harvin
authors.affiliation: Glenn Harvin, Eslam Ali, Amit Raina, William Leland, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, United States.
authors.forename: Eslam
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: Glenn Harvin, Eslam Ali, Amit Raina, William Leland, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, United States.
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raina
authors.affiliation: Glenn Harvin, Eslam Ali, Amit Raina, William Leland, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, United States.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Leland
authors.affiliation: Glenn Harvin, Eslam Ali, Amit Raina, William Leland, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, United States.
authors.forename: Sabeen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abid
authors.affiliation: Glenn Harvin, Eslam Ali, Amit Raina, William Leland, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, United States.
authors.forename: Zahid
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Vahora
authors.affiliation: Glenn Harvin, Eslam Ali, Amit Raina, William Leland, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, United States.
authors.forename: Hossein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Movahed
authors.affiliation: Glenn Harvin, Eslam Ali, Amit Raina, William Leland, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, United States.
authors.forename: Sumyra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kachru
authors.affiliation: Glenn Harvin, Eslam Ali, Amit Raina, William Leland, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, United States.
authors.forename: Rick
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tee
keywords: Berlin questionnaire; Colonoscopy; Obstructive sleep apnea; Screening; Sedation