High Risk Patients, Screening Tools

Sleep Apnea Screening Tools and Evaluation Guidelines

While anyone with signs and symptoms of sleep apnea should discuss them with their physician for a possible referral to the local sleep specialist, some populations have a higher incidence of sleep-disordered breathing. According to the 2009 Guidelines established by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine Task Force, patients presenting with the following conditions are at high risk for obstructive sleep apnea and should be evaluated for OSA symptoms:

• Obesity (BMI > 35)

• Congestive Heart Failure

• Atrial Fibrillation

• Treatment Refractory Hypertension

• Type 2 Diabetes

• Nocturnal Dysrhythmias

• Stroke

• Pulmonary Hypertension

• High-risk Driving Populations

• Preoperative for Bariatric Surgery

There are also a number of self-assessment questionnaires that can be filled out by patients, parents or healthcare providers, such as the

• Epworth Sleepiness Scale,

• STOP-BANG or

• Berlin Questionnaire

• MyApnea.org also provides an online form that can be readily filled out by patients for an automated risk assessment calculation.

Reference: Force, Adult Obstructive Sleep Apnea Task, and American Academy of Sleep Medicine. "Clinical guideline for the evaluation, management and long-term care of obstructive sleep apnea in adults." Journal of clinical sleep medicine: JCSM: official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine 5.3 (2009): 263.