Reliability of the Watch-PAT 200 in Detecting Sleep Apnea in Highway Bus Drivers

Abstract

bRIEF SUmmARYCurrent knowledge/Study Rationale: Polysomnography is mandatory in drivers older than 45 years old and those with snoring, witnessed apnea and/or day time sleepiness who are younger than 45 years old, before getting a highway bus driver licence in Turkey, but the number of sleep centers are not enough to test all the applicants. This study has been done to test the accuracy of Watch-PAT device in detecting sleep disordered breathing among the highway bus drivers.

Home-based Diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in an Urban Population

“…14,15,34 Nevertheless, the limits of agreement on BA plot were larger than previously reported. 14,19,35 We chose to compare the agreement between PSG and WatchPAT200 derived index (i.e., AHI PSG and AHI PM ) that are most likely to be used by clinicians to rule in or exclude a diagnosis of OSA.…”

Obstructive sleep apnea and driving risk: The current Turkish legislation, controversies, and future perspectives

“…This alternative approach should be considered even in Turkey by the national Social Security Institution. A Turkish study by Firat and colleagues [32] suggesting that portable sleep monitoring is reliable in detecting OSA with AHI>15/h in highway bus drivers is important in this context. Given the controversies regarding the relationship between OSA severity and MVA risk in clinical cohorts versus the lack of an association between AHI and MVA risk in commercial drivers [30,33], there is also a need for development of screening tools for objective evaluation of EDS in such individuals.…”

Home Sleep Tests for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

“…32 This device does not, however, measure direct respiratory flow and respira-tory effort and thus cannot distinguish between central apneas, obstructive apneas, and hypopneas. 34 In addition, this device has no way of quantifying the cause of increased sympathetic activity which can also occur in patients who have periodic limb movements. 34 Lastly, the detection of sleep stages by this device has only moderate agreement with the more standard technique of PSG.…”

“…34 In addition, this device has no way of quantifying the cause of increased sympathetic activity which can also occur in patients who have periodic limb movements. 34 Lastly, the detection of sleep stages by this device has only moderate agreement with the more standard technique of PSG. When faced with a patient suspected of having OSA, a primary care provider may choose either to refer their patient to a board-certified sleep specialist for further evaluation or to directly order a HST.…”

“…32 This device is validated for the diagnosis of OSA. 22,[33][34][35][36] The PAT signal is a measure of sympathetic activity and is augmented, along with an increase in the heart rate and a decrease in oxygen saturation, at the termination of a respiratory event. 32,34 Using the above measurements, this device can indirectly detect respiratory events.…”