Ambulatory screening for obstructive sleep apnea in patients with resistant arterial hypertension

摘要

Objective Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is one of the most common causes of secondary arterial hypertension. It is important to rule out OSA as a cause of resistant hypertension. The ApneaLink device is a simple and cost-efficient outpatient examination, but its usefulness in screening OSA in resistant hypertension has not yet been evaluated. Methods A total of 69 patients with resistant arterial hypertension were enrolled. Patients underwent a physical examination, including the use of ApneaLink, followed by respiratory polygraphy. The presence of OSA was assessed by the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), oxygen desaturation index (ODI), mean nocturnal desaturation (SpO~(2)), and percentage of sleep time with SpO~(2)less than 90%. Results There was no significant difference between the values of AHI found during the use of ApneaLink and respiratory polygraphy (mean 30.4?±?21.7 vs. 37.2?±?20.9, P ?=?0.07). ApneaLink had 77.3% sensitivity and 100% specificity to diagnose OSA with the area under the ROC curve 0.866 ( P ?