STOP-BANG Score for Sleep Apnea

The STOP-BANG questionnaire is a widely used, simple, and mnemonic screening tool designed to assess the risk of an individual having moderate to severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). It is particularly common in pre-operative settings to identify patients at high risk for perioperative complications. The name is an acronym for its eight components, where each 'Yes' answer typically scores one point: (1)Snoring: Do you Snore loudly (louder than talking or loud enough to be heard through closed doors)? (2)Tired: Do you often feel Tired, fatigued, or sleepy during the daytime? (3)Observed Apnea: Has anyone Observed you stop breathing or choke/gasp during your sleep? (4)Pressure: Do you have or are you being treated for high blood Pressure? These first four are the symptom-based questions. The 'BANG' part consists of physical risk factors: (5)BMI: Is your Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 35 kg/m²? (6)Age: Are you over 50 years old? (7)Neck Circumference: Is your Neck circumference large (e.g., > 40 cm or 16 inches)? (8)Gender: Are you male? The total score ranges from 0 to 8. The risk is interpreted as follows: Low Risk (0-2 points), Intermediate Risk (3-4 points), and High Risk (5-8 points). A score in the intermediate or high-risk category does not diagnose OSA, but strongly indicates the need for further evaluation, such as polysomnography.