Abstract
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a serious condition that is usually undiagnosed in surgical patients exposing them to complications such as difficult intubation.
To evaluate the updated STOP-Bang questionnaire in detecting OSA risk and its perioperative implications.
Preoperative assessment for OSA risk of 845 adult patients using the updated STOP-Bang questionnaire was conducted. Evaluation of anesthetic events like difficult mask ventilation, Cormack-Lehane score and Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) events were done.
OSA risk was detected in 47.3% of patients, mean age was 40.2 ± 17.8 with male predominance, and higher prevalence of Diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. More than 30% of high risk OSA group were Cormack- Lehane score grade 3 and 4, and 23.4% had difficult mask ventilation. PACU stay significantly increased with the increased risk of OSA (p < 0.01). High risk OSA patients had fourfold higher risk of difficult intubation and mask ventilation (Adjusted Odds Ratio 4.39 and 4.25, respectively, P < 0.05).
Intermediate and high OSA risk patients were more prone to suffer intra and post-operative events as difficult intubation and mask ventilation. Updated STOP-Bang questionnaire was found to be a reliable tool to detect OSA risk and predict its perioperative implications.
•Patients at risk for OSA have a greater propensity for perioperative adverse events.•Updated STOP-Bang is a reliable tool to predict and risk-stratify OSA.•Predicting OSA risk helps to formulate clinical and resource utilization plans.
Synopsis: Obstructive Sleep apnea (OSA) is a serious condition that is usually underdiagnosed in the general and surgical population. The updated STOP-Bang questionnaire offers a quick and reliable tool to screen these patients with better specificity. This study used the updated STOP-Bang to address the risk of prevalence and perioperative consequences of OSA. OSA was highly prevalent and associated with many comorbidities. Intermediate and high risk OSA patients were more prone to suffer intra and post-operative events such as difficult intubation and oxygen desaturation. The updated STOP-Bang questionnaire was able to predict these events and can help to better formulate anesthetic plans.