Objective: A real-time MRI “movie” during natural sleep (“Sleep MRI”) allows observation of dynamic airway obstructions in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) patients. The purpose of this article was to determine the reliability of assessing these obstructions.
Study Design: Cross-sectional diagnostic test evaluation.
Setting: Academic referral center.
Subjects and Methods: A total of 23 Sleep MRI sequences randomly selected from 20 consecutive OSAS patients were analyzed by two experienced sleep surgeons on two separate occasions separated by at least two weeks. Five dimensions were assessed: presence or absence of any obstruction, presence or absence of a retropalatal obstruction, presence or absence of a retroglossal obstruction, presence or absence of a swallow, and duration of an obstructive event.
Results: For all dimensions measured, intra-rater reliability coefficients ranged from a low of 0.95 to a high of 1.0 for each rater. Inter-rater reliability coefficients ranged from a low of 0.85 to a high of 1.0. On two separate evaluations separated by at least two weeks, rater 1 identified a retropalatal obstruction in 100 percent of sequences, whereas rater 2 did so in 91 percent and 96 percent of the sequences, respectively. Retroglossal obstruction was identified in 57 percent (rater 1) and 65 percent (rater 2) of sequences.
Conclusion: Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability coefficients are very high for determination of presence or absence of any obstruction, presence or absence of a retropalatal obstruction, presence or absence of a retroglossal obstruction, presence or absence of a swallow, and duration of obstruction from Sleep MRI sequences in OSAS patients.
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