Evaluation of type 3 portable monitoring in unattended home setting for suspected sleep apnea: factors that may affect its accuracy.

OBJECTIVE

This study evaluates the reliability of type 3 portable monitoring (PM) in a home setting.

STUDY DESIGN AND

SETTING

Prospective study in sleep laboratory. Type 3 device (Stardust II) was evaluated in comparison with standard polysomnography (PSG) among patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Quality of recorded data and agreement between PM and PSG results were evaluated.

RESULTS

Low quality of recorded data was observed only in 5 cases. Pattern of disordered breathing was recognized correctly by PM. Apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) correlated well with a mean bias of 3.7 +/- 13.1/h. High sensitivity of PM was observed generally, whereas specificity was lower in mild patients. AHI, record time, and sleep position were found to be the main factors that would affect the accuracy of PM.

CONCLUSION

Type 3 PM is feasible in unattended home-setting for routine examination. Influence of the factors above should be comprehensively considered especially for mild patients.