Validation of a New Unattended Sleep Apnea Monitor Using Two Methods for the Identification of Hypopneas.

Study Objectives: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the accuracy of a home sleep apnea test (HSAT), MATRx plus (Zephyr Sleep Technologies, Calgary, Alberta, Canada), in identifying apneas and hypopneas and estimating indices of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Methods: Individuals with suspected OSA underwent a one-night study wearing both HSAT and polysomnogram(PSG) sensors. The results provided by the overnight HSAT were compared with those from the simultaneously recorded PSG. The PSG data were scored manually, and the HSAT data were analyzed automatically using both preceding peak (PP) and moving average window (MW) methods for determining the reference oxyhemoglobin saturation (O-2 Sat). Accuracy of the HSAT in detecting individual apneic and hypopneic events was evaluated on an epoch-by-epoch basis. The apnea-hypopnea indices from the two recording systems were compared. Results: Agreement analysis for the individual apneic and hypopneic events yielded median values for sensitivity and specificity of 0.89 and 0.98 and positive and negative likelihood ratios of 37.35 and 0.11, respectively. Comparison of OSA indices between the two systems yielded correlation coefficients in the range of 0.95-0.96 and intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.92-0.96. Bland-Altman analyses showed 0-2 cases lying outside the +/- 2 standard deviation (SD) band and biases ranging from 2.1 to 5.3 events/h. The biases were larger for MW than PP. Conclusions: The MATRx plus HSAT identifies apneic and hypopneic events and estimates OSA indices with accuracy suitable for clinical purposes but not in children, patients with underlying lung disease, and habitual mouth-breathers.