Validation of the Berlin Questionnaire and American Society of Anesthesiologists Checklist as Screening Tools for Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Surgical Patients

Background: Because of the high prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and its adverse impact on perioperative outcome, a practical screening tool for surgical patients is required. This study was conducted to validate the Berlin questionnaire and the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) checklist in surgical patients and to compare them with the STOP questionnaire.

Methods: After hospital ethics approval, preoperative patients aged 18 yr or older and without previously diagnosed OSA were recruited. The scores from the Berlin questionnaire, ASA checklist, and STOP questionnaire were evaluated versus the apnea-hypopnea index from in-laboratory polysomnography. The perioperative data were collected through chart review.

Results: Of 2,467 screened patients, 33, 27, and 28% were respectively classified as being at high risk of OSA by the Berlin questionnaire, ASA checklist, and STOP questionnaire. The performance of the screening tools was evaluated in 177 patients who underwent polysomnography. The sensitivities of the Berlin questionnaire, ASA checklist, and STOP questionnaire were 68.9-87.2, 72.1-87.2, and 65.6-79.5% at different apnea-hypopnea index cutoffs. There was no significant difference between the three screening tools in the predictive parameters. The patients with an apnea-hypopnea index greater than 5 and the patients identified as being at high risk of OSA by the STOP questionnaire or ASA checklist had a significantly increased incidence of postoperative complications.     

East Midlands Surgical Society

The following abstracts won prizes at the East Midlands Surgical Society meeting held on 8 November 2013 at Chesterfield Royal Hospital.

• Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 2014 Jul; 96(5): e45–e46.
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• Impaired endothelium dependent relaxation: a proxy of viability for donation after circulatory death kidneys

2014 Jul; 96(5): e45–e46. Published online 2014 Jul.

Impaired endothelium dependent relaxation: a proxy of viability for donation after circulatory death kidneys

G Lee, SA Hosgood, M Patel, C Crotty, K Shah, and ML Nicholson

G Lee

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, UKFind articles by G Lee

SA Hosgood

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, UKFind articles by SA Hosgood

M Patel

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, UKFind articles by M Patel

C Crotty

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, UKFind articles by C Crotty

K Shah

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, UKFind articles by K Shah

ML Nicholson

University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, UKFind articles by ML NicholsonAuthor information Copyright and License information DisclaimerUniversity Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, UKCorresponding author.E: ku.oc.liamtoh@eelnywgCopyright notice     

Surgical Research Society Abstracts

The following abstracts were presented at the 79th meeting of the Surgical Research Society, with Professor L. E. Hughes in the Chair. The meeting was organized by the Department of Surgery, Guy's Hospital, London and held on 6–7 January 1994 at the Institute of Education, University of London. Ninety-seven papers were presented during the scientific sessions, which were preceded by a symposium entitled ‘Malignant dysphagia’. The Patey Prize was awarded to Miss Janet Walls for her paper entitled ‘Urinary cross-links: mechanisms of hypercalcaemia in women with breast cancer’.     

The Berlin Urological Society from 1912 to 2006

The influence of the "Berlin Urologists' School" led to the founding of the Berlin Urological Society (BUS) in 1912. In his foundation speech, C. Posner spoke of the no longer appropriate division between internal medicine and surgery, and hoped for the rapid recognition of urology as an independent specialist discipline in Germany. Thus, BUS was initially a purely scientific body which did not consider the political position or economic interests of the Berlin urologists. In 1955, urology became independent after its complete separation from surgery. Today, the main aim of the society is again the dissemination of specialist scientific knowledge.