STOP-Bang questionnaire in patients hospitalized with acute symptomatic pulmonary embolism

Abstract

Study Objectives The STOP-Bang questionnaire is a validated screening tool for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). We conducted this study to validate it among patients hospitalized with acute symptomatic pulmonary embolism (PE). Methods This prospective cohort study enrolled consecutive stable patients with acute PE who underwent an overnight sleep study within 7 days after diagnosis. Our outcomes were: i) the STOP-Bang questionnaire’s utility for risk stratification, ii) the discrimination of the STOP-Bang questionnaire categories, iii) the false negative rate of STOP-Bang questionnaire prediction, and iv) the clinical utility of the STOP-Bang questionnaire to exclude OSA. We also calculated the test performance characteristics to predict OSA. Results During the study period, 268 patients completed a sleep study. OSA was found in 47% of patients. OSA incidence in low-, moderate-, and high-risk STOP-Bang groups was 22.4%, 48.2%, and 61.5%, respectively (P <0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve of the STOP-Bang questionnaire for risk of OSA was 0.65. The false negative rate of a low-risk STOP-Bang questionnaire result to rule out OSA was 22.4% and the clinical utility was 21.6%. The sensitivity was 89.8% (97.2% for men and 80.4% for women). Conclusions The STOP-Bang questionnaire showed poor discrimination for the risk of OSA in hospitalized patients with acute symptomatic PE. It had a high false negative rate and a low clinical utility. The STOP-Bang questionnaire had a good sensitivity in men, and might be used to rule out OSA in this population.