A comparison of polysomnography and the WatchPAT in the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea.

OBJECTIVE Our goal was to validate the WatchPAT in the diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea. STUDY DESIGN We conducted a prospective, blinded, nonrandomized clinical trial. METHODS Patients with suspected obstructive sleep apnea scheduled for an overnight level I polysomnogram were offered enrollment in a study to compare the WatchPAT (Itamar Ltd, Israel) device with polysomnography. Patients wore the WatchPAT device simultaneously while undergoing polysomnography during evaluation in the sleep lab. RESULTS Thirty-seven patients participated in the study. They had a mean age of 50.1 years (range, 31-73 years) and mean body mass index of 34.6 kg/m(2) (range, 21.2-46.8 kg/m(2)). There was high correlation between the polysomnogram and WatchPAT apnea-hypopnea index (r = 0.9288; 95% confidence interval = 0.8579-0.9650, P < 0.0001). The lowest oxygen saturation also showed high correlation (r = 0.989; 95% confidence interval = 0.9773-0.9947, P < 0.0001). The overall polysomnogram and WatchPAT sleep times revealed a correlation of r = 0.5815 (P = 0.005). CONCLUSION The WatchPAT showed a high correlation with the polysomnogram in apnea-hypopnea index, lowest oxygen saturation, and sleep time. SIGNIFICANCE It's use as a reliable tool in the diagnosis of Obstructive Sleep Apnea.