E-ISSN: 2146-8052
Is there a decisive role for the epworth sleepiness scale in the diagnosis of sleep apnea syndrome?
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Original Article
VOLUME: 58 ISSUE: 2
P: 161-164
June 2016

Is there a decisive role for the epworth sleepiness scale in the diagnosis of sleep apnea syndrome?

Gulhane Med J 2016;58(2):161-164
DOI: 10.5455/gulhane.178918
Mustafa Tansel Kendirli 1
Gökhan Akgöz 1
Mehmet Fatih Özdağ 1
Hakan Tekeli 1
Halit Yaşar 2
Hakan Balıbey 3
Nurten Kendirli 4
1. GATA HAydarpaşa Eğitim Hastanesi, Nöroloji Servisi, İstanbul, Türkiye.
2. Mevki Asker Hastanesi, Nöroloji Servisi, Ankara, Türkiye.
3. GATA Haydarpaşa Eğitim Hastanesi, Psikiyatri Servisi, İstanbul, Türkiye.
4. Erenköy Fizik Tedavi ve Rehabilitasyon Hastanesi, Nöroloji Bölümü, İstanbul, Türkiye.
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No information available
Received Date: 02.02.2015
Accepted Date: 25.02.2015
Publish Date: 10.06.2016
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ABSTRACT

Polysomnography (PSG) conducted in a fully-equipped sleep laboratory is considered as the golden standard for the diagnosis of sleep apnea syndrome (SAS), yet it is time consuming and expensive. Since daytime sleepiness or lack of energy are among the symptoms of SAS, several questionnaires have been employed to reveal the degree of sleepiness and to help diagnosing SAS without performing a PSG, such as the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), STOP-Bang score and the Berlin Questionnaire. The current study results, which have investigated the correlations between ESS and SAS are contradictory. Therefore, we aimed to question the relevance of this correlation in our patient cohort. In our study, the clinical data of 258 SAS patients were analyzed in a retrospective fashion. Among the investigated cases, 218 (84%) were male and 40 (16%) were female. Our findings confirm a lack of correlation between ESS and SAS (p=0.7, r=0.02, Pearson). ESS is the most widely used subjective test for determining the daytime sleepiness; yet, inter-individual variations complicate its utility in the diagnosis of sleep apnea.