Defense Date
2024
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Dentistry
Department
Dentistry
First Advisor
Eser Tufekci
Second Advisor
Harmeet Chiang
Third Advisor
Steven Lindauer
Fourth Advisor
Caroline Carrico
Abstract
Objective: The aims of this study were to (1) determine the ability of a pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (POSA) questionnaire to identify high-risk patients through confirmation with an at-home sleep apnea test (HSAT) and (2) to evaluate the correlation between high-risk patients as identified by the questionnaire (PM-STOP-Bang) and an already validated POSA screening tool.
Methods: Orthodontic patients aged 12-17 who met the inclusion criteria were consecutively enrolled in the study (n=16). At the initial orthodontic appointment, the clinician filled out the PM-STOP-Bang questionnaire. Subsequently, participants were invited to complete a one-night HSAT (WatchPat, WP-Itamar-Medical, Caesarea, Israel), which recorded diagnostic sleep characteristics. Upon returning to the clinic, patients and their guardians filled out the validated Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ). The sleep study results were automatically saved on a cloud server and accessed by a sleep physician for data analysis. The sleep apnea threshold was defined as an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≥ 1.0. The PM-STOP-Bang questionnaire scores were compared to those of the PSQ to assess for correlations between the two screening tools and their ability to detect patients at high-risk for POSA.
Results: Eleven (69%) of the sixteen subjects were diagnosed with at least mild POSA through home sleep apnea testing. Eight subjects were identified as high-risk by the PSQ and one subject as high-risk by the PM-STOP-Bang questionnaire. There was no significant association between HSAT results and high-risk classification through either the PSQ (p-value > 0.999) or the PM-STOP-Bang questionnaire (p-value > 0.999). Neither snoring (p-value = 0.3007) nor the presence of ADHD (p-value = 0.5089) were reliable indicators for the presence of POSA as well. Lastly, high-risk classification by the PM-STOP-Bang questionnaire and PSQ were not significantly associated (p-value > 0.999)
Conclusion: 69% of cases within our study sample were diagnosed with at least mild pediatric obstructive sleep apnea using an at-home sleep apnea test. The pediatric sleep questionnaire did not show sufficient sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis, contrasting with previous literature that has validated the screening tool. Within the limitations of the current study, the PM-STOP-Bang questionnaire did not show sufficient accuracy for the detection of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea in orthodontic patients between the ages of 12-17.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
4-30-2024