Work

General Practice Sleep Scale – The “GPSS” – A proposed new tool for use in General Practice for risk assessment of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: This pilot study investigated a new simplified OSA screening tool that could be used in primary care/GP settings – the “GPSS” tool – “General Practice Sleep Scale” and compared against common existing OSA screening tools. A convenience sample of patients attending the respiratory and sleep clinic in the Northern Territory of Australia were included if they completed the GPSS prior to undergoing a diagnostic polysomnography. The GPSS contained 9 questions to provide information on: sex, age, body mass index, neck circumference, snoring, witnessed apnoeas, morning tiredness, daytime sleepiness and presence of hypertension/diabetes/heart disease/depression. Presence of OSA was defined as an apnoea-hypopnoea index of ≥15/hour. The GPSS scoring was developed via log odds of regression predictions for each GPSS question upon OSA. 159 patients (65 % male, median age 45 years) were enrolled. A minimum score of 1 was assigned to GPSS questions, up to 5 for the strongest predictor (neck circumference). The median total GPSS score was 13 (IQR 9, 16) (maximum 22) and correlated strongly with OSA (AUC 0.812 (95 % CI 0.744, 0.881)). Categorised into low (0–7), moderate (8–13) or high risk (>13), a moderate or severe score had sensitivity 100, specificity 34.9 %. The GPSS significantly outperformed the Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Berlin questionnaire and OSA-50, and was comparable but slightly improved against the STOP-Bang. The proposed GPSS tool could be of use in general practice settings. Further prospective research is warranted to test the applicability and adaptability of the GPSS tool in wider population settings. • General practitioners play a critical role in identifying at risk patients with OSA. • Underdiagnosis of OSA continues in General Practice due to competing priorities. • A simplified OSA screening tool (GPSS) for use in General practice was developed. • This proposed OSA screening tool outperformed most existing OSA screening tools. • Further research is warranted to test the GPSS utility in wider populations.

Source: Sleep Medicine

DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2024.11.022

Authors: Timothy Howarth, Joe Hedger, Winnie Chen, Himanshu Garg, Subash S. Heraganahally

Institutions: University of Eastern Finland, Flinders University, Menzies School of Health Research, Royal Darwin Hospital, Charles Darwin University

Language: English

Topic: Obstructive Sleep Apnea Research

Subfield: Physiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,840