Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a serious condition caused by a blockage of the upper airway. It causes cardiovascular problems, cognitive impairment, epilepsy, tiredness, drowsiness, diabetes, and post-operative complications. It is critical to recognise and treat OSA before it progresses to additional comorbidities. As a result, viable questionnaire-based techniques for screening this illness have been established. The STOP questionnaire, STOP-Bang questionnaire, Berlin questionnaire, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, Fatigue Severity Scale, and the 4-Variable Screening Tool are all elaborated on in this review article.
The STOP-Bang questionnaire was shown to be the most sensitive screening tool for OSA among various questionnaire-based screening methods. It is a fast and dependable approach that may be used in normal practise to screen for OSA and stratify patients into high-risk and low-risk groups before they are exposed to polysomnography.
