Application of videotape in the screening of obstructive sleep apnea in children

Abstract Objective To determine if watching a videotape that shows features of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) will improve the accuracy of a verbally administered questionnaire in the prediction of OSA in pediatric snorers. Patients and methods In a prospective single-blinded, randomized, controlled study at a pediatric clinic for sleep-disordered breathing, we studied children aged 0–18 years, who had been referred to a sleep laboratory for overnight polysomnography (PSG), and their parents from November 1999 to November 2000. The parents were randomized to answer a standard verbally administered panel of three questions (SQ) or a verbally administered panel of questions assisted by videotape (VQ). Results The parents of 52 and 56 pediatric snorers were assigned to answer SQ and VQ, respectively. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic [ROC] curves (AUCs) for screening of OSA in patients were similar at 0.709 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.561–0.851) for SQ and 0.714 (95% CI = 0.571–0.858) for VQ. The two questionnaires had a reasonable negative predictive value to rule out the presence of OSA (VQ = 0.816 and 95% CI = 0.726–0.885, SQ = 0.828, 95% CI = 0.714–0.913). Conclusion The addition of a videotape showing important features of OSA achieved no better accuracy than a standard questionnaire.