Test-retest reliability of drug-induced sleep endoscopy

OBJECTIVE: To determine the test-retest reliability of drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) METHODS: Prospective cohort study. Patients with OSA underwent two separate DISE examinations. The following outcomes were measured: a global assessment of obstruction at the palate and/or hypopharynx: the degree of obstruction at the palate and hypopharynx; and the contribution of individual structures (palate, tonsils, tongue, epiglottis, and lateral pharyngeal walls) to obstruction. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients underwent two separate DISE examinations. The preoperative sleep study apnea-hypopnea index was 40.7 +/- 21.1, and lowest oxygen saturation was 79.8 +/- 17.4 percent. Point estimates for the intraclass correlation coefficient analogs related to palatal obstruction ranged from 0.41 to 0.89; related to the hypopharyngeal airway, the point estimates ranged from 0.57 to 0.84. CONCLUSION: The test-retest reliability of DISE appears good, especially in the evaluation of the hypopharyngeal airway, Larger studies can generate more precise confidence interval estimates and test the generalizability of these findings. (C) 2009 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation. All rights reserved.