Point of Care Ultrasound in Pregnant Women (PoCUS-OB)

This project is to define the range of mouth and tongue dimensions and to visualize airway structures by using ultrasound. Given that Home sleep apnea tests (HST) shows high levels of accuracy for the diagnosis of Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), investigators hypothesize that the Point of care ultrasonography (PoCUS) airway examination against the HST for the diagnosis of OSA in pregnant women at the high-risk can,

• reliably visualize upper airway structures that are responsible for OSA;
• objectively measure airway soft tissue thickness and dimensions; and
• identify pregnant women with moderate-severe OSA.

• Inclusion criteria

• Pregnant women ≥ 18 years of age
• at > 20 weeks of gestation
• ASA physical status I - IV
• With untreated recently diagnosed (within the previous 12 months) OSA or at high risk of OSA will be eligible for inclusion.

High risk of OSA will be defined as outlined by Facco et al. and recommended by recently updated guidelines (i.e., score ≥ 75) (8).

• Exclusion criteria i) past history of oral, head or neck surgery (e.g., corrective surgery for OSA) ii) active head and neck disease (e.g., cancer, infection, radiotherapy etc.) iii) inability to perform HST per instruction iv) patients with diagnosed OSA on CPAP therapy