Validity and Reliability of the Thai Version of the Pediatric
Obstructive Sleep Apnea Screening Tool
Abstract
Objective: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is highly prevalent in children
and requires an expensive and relatively unavailable sleep study for
diagnosis. This study was undertaken to translate the previously
validated OSA screening tool (POSAST) to the Thai language and assess
its accuracy and test-retest reliability in at-risk symptomatic
children. Study design: Prospective cross-sectional cohort study
Methods: Pediatric patients clinically referred for suspected OSA who
underwent overnight polysomnography (PSG) were recruited, and caregivers
completed the Thai version of the POSAST. The same questionnaire was
completed again after 2-4 weeks. Results: One hundred and ten subjects
completed the study. The mean age was 8.4±2.9 years. The mean
apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) was 10.9±11.9 events/hour. Test-retest
reliability (Pearson correlation coefficient = 0.96, P<0.001)
and internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient = 0.82,
P<0.001) between each question were excellent. A cumulative
equation-derived score cut-off of 1.9 yielded 78.4% sensitivity and
50.0% specificity, while a numerical additive score cut-off of 8
corresponded to 81.1% sensitivity and 52.8% specificity for diagnosing
moderate and severe OSA (AHI ≥5 events per hour) Conclusion: The
internal consistency and reproducibility of the Thai version of the
POSAST are satisfactory, display acceptable validity, and the instrument
can be used for screening symptomatic Thai children for OSA.