Testing of the Czech questionnaire for identifying children at risk of obstructive sleep apnea

Abstract

This study aimed to create a Czech questionnaire for pediatric obstructive sleep apnea (POSA) risk screening, a first of its kind in the Czech Republic, where options for child polysomnography are limited. Compiling items from established English questionnaires and supplementing them with additional items, we designed the first version of the Czech questionnaire and tested it in a pilot study with parents of 30 children. After pilot feedback, a revised version with dichotomous and 5-item Likert scale questions was tested on another 70 children's parents. All children (7–12 years old) underwent a home sleep apnea test to record their apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). The second (40-item) version showed high reliability (93%), with 17 items identified as the most significant. Findings from the final 17-item SEN CZ questionnaire correlated positively with AHI (p < 0.001), demonstrating 84% sensitivity, 86% specificity, and 93% reliability. Three factors, namely breathing problems, inattention, and hyperactivity (characterized by multiple items), were identified to form a higher-order factor of POSA risk, which was further supported by the correlations of their total scores with AHI (p < 0.001). The resulting SEN CZ questionnaire can serve as a tool for POSA risk screening in the Czech Republic without the need to involve medical professionals.