Hits and misses: screening commercial drivers for obstructive sleep apnea using guidelines recommended by a joint task force

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gurubhagavatula I ; Hurley S ; Maislin G ; Platt AB ; Soto-Calderon H ; Staley B ; Wick LC ; Wieland W
• Description:
  OBJECTIVE: To evaluate joint task force criteria-based screening for severe obstructive sleep apnea (s-OSA) in commercial drivers. METHODS: Among a community-based cohort of licensed commercial vehicle drivers, we assessed utility of the joint task force criteria. We conducted full, 14-channel overnight polysomnography in all drivers, defining s-OSA as an apnea-hypopnea index of 30 or more per hour. RESULTS: One hundred of 104 drivers with successful polysomnography studies were predominantly obese (median body mass index = 32.8 kg/m; interquartile range = 26.8 to 37.4) and had a median apnea-hypopnea index of 20.6 per hour (interquartile range = 10.0 to 34.2). Examination-based criteria were more effective (sensitivity = 80%; negative posttest probability [nPTP] = 17%) than symptom-based criteria (sensitivity = 63%; nPTP = 23%). Examination and symptom-based criteria combined had high sensitivity (97%) and low nPTP (7%), but poor specificity (19%). CONCLUSIONS: Examination-based criteria missed 20% of s-OSA cases. Combining examination with confidentially reported symptoms improved sensitivity but required confirmatory polysomnography in 86%, supporting universal screening of all drivers. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Automobiles Body Weight Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Body Weight Motor Vehicles Sleep Apnea Truck Drivers Trucking
• ISSN:
  1076-2752
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  55
• Issue:
  9
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20044292
• Citation:
  J Occup Environ Med 2013 Sep; 55(9):1035-1040
• Contact Point Address:
  Alec B. Platt, MD, MSCE, FCCP, 2608 Keiser Blvd, Wyomissing, PA 19610
• Email:
  alecplatt@gmail.com
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  University of Pennsylvania
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20070801
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
• End Date:
  20130701
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a596ea3772a1770334e49d419de39a62621df7c5ccf9c5403ec6a88f4d5ca0b76e5150333b2a0ca89a44d740038a1c1993b005a9404ec026a31412699b3679fe
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200028/cdc_200028_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 137.07 KB ]