Survey of otorhinolaryngologists on their clinical examinations performed in patients with suspected sleep-disordered breathing

There is currently no standardized ear, nose, and throat (ENT) clinical examination for patients with sleep-disordered breathing (SDB). As a result, there are large inter-individual differences in the examinations due to an inadequate estimation of the relevance of certain anatomic sites. We aimed to identify which examinations/dynamic tests are considered most relevant by German ENT physicians. A questionnaire was designed, evaluating 23 anatomic sites/dynamic tests of the upper aero-digestive tract. The questionnaire was sent to all German ENT departments (n = 153), including universities and other tertiary or secondary referral centers, by postal mail. In addition, almost all private ENT specialists registered with the German professional association (n = 2496) were contacted via e-mail. Participants assessed how often they examined the sites/dynamic tests, subjective importance, and the impact on the therapeutic procedure. A mean score of relevance (mSOR) was generated (minimum score 1; maximum score 75) from these three items. The response rate for hospitals was 58.8 %; while, it was 4.1 % for ENT specialists in private practice. Therefore, the total response rate was 7.3 %. Of the 23 assessed items, some showed a high overall relevance, such as the tonsils (mSOR 64.75), webbing (mSOR 58.14), uvula (mSOR 55.12), or tongue base (mSOR 53.99). Other examinations, such as simulated snoring (mSOR 19.34) or the Mueller maneuver (mSOR 18.98), were estimated as less relevant. Our data reflect the assessment of German otorhinolaryngologists on the clinical examination of SDB patients. The results should be considered as a basis for compiling a standardized procedure.