Predicting which patients will benefit from surgery for obstructive sleep apnea: the ENT exam.
Airway evaluation is critical for surgical decision making. In patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a minimal evaluation should include a basic head and neck physical examination to evaluate for overt pathology. An upper airway examination will also provide insight into identifying patients with a higher risk of OSA. For patients who are evaluated for surgery, endoscopy combined with cephalometrics is the most accepted method of identifying patients with retroglossal collapse and obstruction. A new paradigm suggests that most patients have multilevel obstruction, so examination should be directed at assessing risk factors to direct the aggressiveness of surgical intervention.
Woodson
B T
BT
Department of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee 53226, USA. bwoodson@mcw.edu
D002508:Cephalometry / Q000379:methods*; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010808:Physical Examination; D011379:Prognosis; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000601:surgery*; D016896:Treatment Outcome