Is the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire sensitive for sleep-disordered breathing in children with complex chronic disease?

• Published in: Sleep & breathing 2024-03, Vol.28 (1), p.331-337
• Main Authors: Kalyoncu, Mine, Namlı, Nurtuğ, Yegit, Cansu Yilmaz, Yanaz, Muruvvet, Gulieva, Aynur, Ergenekon, Almala Pınar, Selçuk, Merve, Atağ, Emine, İkizoğlu, Nilay Baş, Sabancı, Meltem, Lale, Kadir, Gokdemir, Yasemin, Ersu, Refika, Karakoç, Fazilet, Karadag, Bulent, Eralp, Ela Erdem
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Apnea; Cerebral Palsy; Child; Chronic Disease; Chronic illnesses; Dentistry; Developmental disabilities; Female; Humans; Internal Medicine; Lung diseases; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Neurology; Otorhinolaryngology; Patients; Pediatrics; Pneumology/Respiratory System; Questionnaires; Respiration; Retrospective Studies; Sleep; Sleep apnea; Sleep Apnea Syndromes - diagnosis; Sleep Apnea Syndromes - epidemiology; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive - diagnosis; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive - epidemiology; Sleep Breathing Physiology and Disorders • Original Article; Sleep disorders; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 1520-9512; 1522-1709
• DOI: 10.1007/s11325-023-02915-z

Purpose Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is a disease defined by breathing or breathing irregularities while asleep. The current study examines the association between results of polysomnography (PSG) and the Pediatric Sleep Questionnaire (PSQ), and the specificity and sensitivity of the PSQ for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with chronic illnesses. Methods Demographic and clinical attributes, in addition to PSQ and PSG outcomes were examined retrospectively among patients who underwent polysomnography (PSG) at our facility between 2012 and 2021. Results Of 745 patients included in the study, 462 (62%) were male. The median age was 81 months (34–151 months). 117 of the patients (15/8%) had chronic lung disease, and 80 (10.7%) had cerebral palsy. The most common indications for PSG were symptoms of OSA ( n  = 426; 57.1%). According to obstructive apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), 361 patients (48.5%) had normal PSG. The median PSQ score was 0.40 (0.22–0.57). The sensitivity and specificity of the PSQ were 71.8% and 40.4%, respectively, for individuals aged 2 to 18 years. Among the disease subgroups, the cerebral palsy group had the highest sensitivity of PSQ (88.8%) for diagnosis of OSA. Conclusion Questionnaires for evaluating SDB are not sensitive or specific for identification of OSA in children with chronic conditions, and PSG remains the best method.