Screening for obstructive sleep apnea in a sample of Egyptian idiopathic intracranial hypertension female patients using the Berlin questionnaire

Background : Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is one of the risk factors for idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). The Berlin questionnaire (BQ) is a validated reliable method for the identi fi cation of an increased likelihood of OSA. We aimed to screen a sample of female IIH patients for OSA using the BQ. Patients and methods : This study included 40 females; 20 newly diagnosed IIH patients and 20 healthy controls. The BQ was obtained from all of the study participants, and it was divided into high or low risk for OSA. Results : The patient and control cohorts were age-matched. The BMI was signi fi cantly higher in the IIH group (median 36, range 24 e 42) than in the control group (median 28, range 20 e 41) ( P ¼ 0.005). Of the IIH patient group, 45% had a high-risk BQ score, while only 15% of the healthy control group had a high-risk score ( P ¼ 0.038). Conclusion : Stratifying the risk of OSA in IIH may be feasible using the BQ. A high likelihood for OSA in BQ is more common in patients of IIH. Polysomnography may be warranted in IIH patients with high-risk BQ scores to reduce the morbidities associated with OSA, especially in obese patients.