Translation of Berlin Questionnaire to Portuguese language and its application in OSA identifi cation in a sleep disordered breathing clinic [Tradução do Questionário de Berlim para língua Portuguesa e sua aplicação na identifi cação da SAOS numa consulta de patologia respiratória do sono]

Background: berlin questionnaire (bq),an english language screening tool for obstructive sleep apnea (osa) in primary care,has been applied in tertiary settings,with variable results. aims: development of bq portuguese version and evaluation of its utility in a sleep disordered breathing clinic (sdbc). material and methods: bq was translated using back translation methodology and prospectively applied,previously to cardiorespiratory sleep study,to 95 consecutive subjects,referred to a sdbc,with osa suspicion. osa risk assessment was based on responses in 10 items,organized in 3 categories: snoring and witnessed apneas (category 1),daytime sleepiness (category 2),high blood pressure (hbp)/obesity (category 3). results: in the studied sample,67.4 % were males,with a mean age of 51 ± 13 years. categories 1,2 and 3 were positive in 91.6,24.2 and 66.3 %,respectively. bq identified 68.4 % of the patients as being in the high risk group for osa and the remaining 31.6 % in the low risk. bq sensitivity and specificity were 72.1 and 50 %,respectively,for an apnea-hipopnea index (ahi) > 5,82.6 and 44.8 % for ahi > 15,88.4 and 39.1 % for ahi > 30. being in the high risk group for osa did not infl uence signifi cantly the probability of having the disease (positive likelihood ratio [lr] between 1.44-1.49). only the items related to snoring loudness,witnessed apneas and hbp/obesity presented a statistically positive association with ahi,with the model constituted by their association presenting a greater discrimination capability,especially for an ahi > 5 (sensitivity 65.2 %,specifi city 80 %,positive lr 3.26). © 2010 published by elsevier españa,s.l. on behalf of sociedade portuguesa de pneumologia.