title: Nasal patency and sleep-related breathing disorders.
abstract: This article reviews the current insights in the contribution of nasal physiology, resistance and pathophysiology in relation to sleep-related breathing disorders. Different possible pathways have been followed to prove a clear role for the nose in this matter; they are reviewed and discussed. From all this it should be concluded that today there is only evidence for abnormal nasal resistance to be a possible cofactor in the disease. A short reminder about the currently available diagnostic tools for assessing nasal patency and resistance is given next. Finally the relation between the nose and treatment of sleep-related breathing disorders with nocturnal continuous positive airway pressure is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium. philippe.deron@aj.vub.ac.be
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Deron
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Volckaert
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Clement
mesh_terms: D000403:Airway Resistance; D006801:Humans; D009296:Nasal Cavity; D015508:Nasal Obstruction / Q000503:physiopathology; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology*