Year: 2023
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Introduction: Stroke is the second most prevalent cause of death in the world and an important cause of disability in adults. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is an independent risk factor for stroke and is associated with poor poststroke functional outcome if left untreated. Objectives and methods: In this cross-sectional study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of OSA in ambulatory stroke patients using the STOPBang (snoring, tiredness, observed apnea, blood pressure, body mass index, age, neck size, gender) questionnaire. Casuistic and results: A total of 149 patients completed the clinical assessment. Mean age was 57.47 years, 75 (50.34%) were men and 74 (49.66%) were female. Among the patients, 56.37% were smokers or former smokers, and mean body mass index was 27.01 kg/m2 . The median STOP-Bang score was 3 (interquartile range: 2–4). 69.12% were considered moderate to severe risk for OSA (STOP-Bang score ≥3). For the identification of OSA, the questionnaire demonstrated sensitivity of 83.5%, accuracy of 75.2% and specificity of 45.5%. Among the 84 patients who answered the question about the presence of previous OSA symptoms, 59.53% had a negative answer. Discussion: Approximately two out of three stroke patients were classified as moderate to high risk for OSA, reinforcing the need for screening for the disease in this population. In addition, almost 60% reported no symptoms prior to cerebrovascular disease. Finally, the high sensitivity in this study confirms the usefulness of the tool in screening patients for diagnosis and therapeutic intervention. Conclusion: New studies are needed to evaluate OSA prevention and treatment strategies, as this measure will help in the global clinical recovery of the patient after the stroke.
Language: English
Subfield: Physiology (medical)
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4384079189