Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32468236›Full record

ArticleSleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung2020

A detection dog for obstructive sleep apnea: could it work in diagnostics?

Jenni Vaarno, Jyri Myller, Adel Bachour, Heli Koskinen, Leif Bäck, Tuomas Klockars, Anni Koskinen

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Assessing the application potential of different species as obstructive sleep apnea models: a comparative analysis based on cranial CT anatomy.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Jenni VaarnoDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, PO Box 263, HUS, 00029, Helsinki, Finland.
Jyri MyllerDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology, Päijät-Häme Central Hospital, Lahti, Finland.
Adel BachourSleep Unit, Heart and Lung Center, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
Heli KoskinenDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, PO Box 263, HUS, 00029, Helsinki, Finland.
Leif BäckDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, PO Box 263, HUS, 00029, Helsinki, Finland.
Tuomas KlockarsDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, PO Box 263, HUS, 00029, Helsinki, Finland.
Anni KoskinenDepartment of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, PO Box 263, HUS, 00029, Helsinki, Finland. anni.koskinen@hus.fi.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6644-024X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeWe have previously demonstrated that dogs can be trained to distinguish the urine of patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) from that of healthy controls based on olfaction. Encouraged by these promising results, we wanted to investigate if a detection dog could work as a screening tool for OSA. The objective of this study was to prospectively assess the dogs' ability to identify sleep apnea in patients with OSA suspicion.

methodsUrine samples were collected from 50 patients suspected of having OSA. The urine sample was classified as positive for OSA when the patient had a respiratory event index of 5/h or more. The accuracy of two trained dogs in identifying OSA was tested in a prospective blinded setting.

resultsBoth of the dogs correctly detected approximately half of the positive and negative samples. There were no statistically significant differences in the dogs' ability to recognize more severe cases of OSA, as compared to milder cases.

conclusionAccording to our study, dogs cannot be used to screen for OSA in clinical settings, most likely due to the heterogenic nature of OSA.

Indexed as

Working DogsAdultAnimalsDogsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedProspective StudiesSleep Apnea, ObstructiveDetection dogDiagnosticsObstructive sleep apneaOSAScreening

Identifiers

PMID32468236
PMCPMC7679355

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.