Scoring reliability of the multiple sleep latency test in a clinical population

• Published in: Sleep (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 23; no. 7; pp. 911 - 913
• Main Authors: DRAKE, Christopher L, RICE, Matthew F, ROEHRS, Timothy A, ROSENTHAL, Leon, GUIDO, Peter, ROTH, Thomas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Rochester, MN American Academy of Sleep Medicine 01-11-2000
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Disorders of Excessive Somnolence - epidemiology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects. Models. Methods; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Narcolepsy - diagnosis; Nocturnal Myoclonus Syndrome - diagnosis; Observer Variation; Polysomnography - methods; Reaction Time; Reproducibility of Results; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive - diagnosis; Sleep Stages - physiology; Sleep, REM - physiology; Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Human; Vigilance; Multiple; Analysis method; Sleep; Methodology; Electrophysiology; Asleeping; Electroencephalography; Reliability; Latency
• ISSN: 0161-8105; 1550-9109

To determine intrarater and interrater scoring reliability of the multiple sleep latency test (MSLT) in a population of sleep clinic patients.
N/A.
Urban sleep center.
200 consecutive sleep center patients (diagnoses included: obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy, periodic-limb-movement, and individuals with no diagnosis).
N/A.
MSLTs were recorded and scored according to standard clinical procedures. One of four clinical polysomnographers and one of seven polysomnographic technologists scored each MSLT. All MSLTs were then rescored by the same polysomnographer. The intrarater reliability coefficient for mean MSLT score was .87 and interrater reliability was .90. Coefficients for the mean number of REM onsets during the MSLT were .81 for intrarater and .88 for interrater reliability. Intrarater and interrater agreement (kappa coefficients) for the presence of at least one REM onset during the MSLT was .78 and .86, respectively. For the presence of greater than one REM onset, a kappa of .78 was obtained for intrarater agreement and .91 for interrater agreement.
The clinical MSLT displays excellent interrater and intrarater reliability estimates for both sleep latency and REM onset scores in a sleep-disordered population.