A Quality Improvement Project: Using the STOP-BANG Tool in a Military Population to Improve Equity in Preoperative Screening.

BACKGROUND: The lack of a preoperative screening tool to detect obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may lead to an increase in postoperative complications.

AIM: The aim of the study was to implement a prescreening tool to identify diagnosed or undiagnosed OSA before a surgical procedure.

SETTING: The study was conducted in the surgical admission center and postanesthesia care unit at a military treatment facility in Hawaii.

PARTICIPANTS: Participants of the study included military personnel, military family members, veterans, and veteran beneficiaries.

METHODS: The STOP-BANG (snore/tired/obstruction/pressure-body mass index/age/neck/gender) tool was used between April and June 2013 to identify and stratify 1,625 patients into low-risk, intermediate-risk, high-risk, and known OSA categories.

RESULTS: The STOP-BANG tool confirmed the diagnosed OSA rate to be 13.48%, and increased at-risk OSA detection by 24.69%. Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders were more frequently found to be at risk with known OSA, likely to have complications, and be transferred to PACU 23-hour extended stay compared to other races and intermediate-risk and high-risk categories.

CONCLUSION: The STOP-BANG tool identified and stratified surgical patients at risk for OSA and standardized OSA assessments.