Comparison of nasal prong pressure and thermistor measurements for detecting respiratory events during sleep

Introduction and Objectives: Thermistor (TH) measurements have been traditionally used to determine airflow during polysomnographic studies (PSG). However, low accuracy in detecting hypopneas is a major drawback. Nasal prong pressure (NPP) measurements are becoming increasingly popular for quantifying respiratory events during sleep. We prospectively compared NPP and TH measurements with respect to their ability to detect respiratory events during routine PSG. Methods: Forty consecutive patients (26 male, 14 female) with clinically suspected sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) underwent routine diagnostic PSG. Airflow was measured using NPP and TH devices simultaneously. PSG was scored manually according to R and K criteria. Respiratory events were scored in two passes. During the first pass, the TH signal was disabled and the NPP signal was scored. During the second pass, the NPP signal was disabled and the TH signal was scored. Scorers for one method were blinded from the results of the other method. To assess respiratory events, we used the respiratory arousal index (RAI), which was defined as the number of apneas and/or hypopneas followed by an arousal per hour of sleep, as detected by TH (RAI-TH) or NPP (RAI-NPP). Agreement analysis of the results obtained using the two different techniques was performed using the methodology of Bland-Altman. Results: Twenty-six patients had obstructive sleep apnea, 10 had respiratory effort-related arousals and 4 had habitual snoring. The failure time of the flow signal on the raw data was not different between the two methods (NPP: 6 +/- 13 min, TH: 4 +/- 7 min). The Bland-Altman analysis of RAIs demonstrated that more events were nearly always detected using NPP compared to TH devices (44.4 +/- 37 vs. 35.4 +/- 31, p < 0.001). No difference in the index of central apneas between the two methods could be detected. Sleep position had no effect on either measurement method. Conclusions: NPP measurements are superior to TH measurements for detecting obstructive respiratory events during sleep. Measurement of NPP is a simple, practical, sensitive and reliable method for detecting the whole spectrum of SDB. We recommend incorporating nasal prongs in routine polysomnographic monitoring. Copyright (C) 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel.