HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:
Guest Access | Sign In via User Name/Password

This Article Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Personal Article Archive Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (13) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Zamarrón, C. Articles by Romero, P. V. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Zamarrón, C. Articles by Romero, P. V.

Utility of Oxygen Saturation and Heart Rate Spectral Analysis Obtained From Pulse Oximetric Recordings in the Diagnosis of Sleep Apnea Syndrome^*

^* From the Sleep Unit, Division of Respiratory Medicine (Drs. Zamarrón, Barcala, and Rodriguez), and Clinical Epidemiology Unit (Dr. Gude), Hospital Clínico Universitario, Santiago; and Lung Function Test Laboratory (Dr. Romero), Division of Respiratory Medicine, Ciutat Sanitaria y Universitaria de Bellvitge, Barcelona. Spain.

Correspondence to: Carlos Zamarrón, MD, Servicio de Neumología, Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago, C/Choupana s/n 15706, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; e-mail: carlos.zamarron.sanz{at}sergas.es

Objectives: We prospectively evaluate the spectral characteristics of nocturnal arterial oxygen saturation (SaO₂) and heart rate variability obtained from pulse oximetric recording as a diagnostic test for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Subjects and measurements: Three hundred referred outpatients with symptoms compatible with the diagnosis of OSA were studied using nocturnal pulse oximetric recording performed simultaneously with polysomnography. Power spectral analysis of SaO₂ and heart rate data were analyzed using fast Fourier transformation of a Hamming-windowed signal.

Design and results: Recording test results were classified as abnormal (suspicion of OSA) if the periodogram showed a peak in the period 30 to 70 s in either of the signals. A normal test result was defined as the absence of this peak in the periodogram in both signals. Two independent observers performed a single-blind evaluation. The total area of the periodogram (STOT), the ratio of the area enclosed in the periodogram within the period 30 to 70 s (S_30–70), the ratio of the area enclosed in the periodogram within the period 30 to 70 s with respect to the total area of the periodogram (S), and the peak amplitude of the periodogram in the period 30 to 70 s (PA) were measured in both signals. The presence of a peak in the periodogram in either of the signals has a sensitivity of 94%, a specificity of 82%, a positive predictive value of 87%, and a negative predictive value of 92% with respect to the OSA diagnosis. The patients in the OSA group had higher values for STOT, S_30–70, S, and PA than the group without OSA.

Conclusions: SaO₂ and heart rate spectral analysis obtained by nocturnal pulse oximetry as well as the identification of a peak within 30 to 70 s in either signal could be useful as a diagnostic technique for patient with OSA.

Key Words: heart rate • obstructive sleep apnea • oximetry • polysomnography • spectral analysis

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C.-C. Hua and C.-C. Yu Smoothed Periodogram of Oxyhemoglobin Saturation by Pulse Oximetry in Sleep Apnea Syndrome: An Automated Analysis Chest, March 1, 2007; 131(3): 750 - 757. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. E. Bloch Getting the Most Out of Nocturnal Pulse Oximetry Chest, November 1, 2003; 124(5): 1628 - 1630. [Full Text] [PDF]