A comparison of radiofrequency treatment schemes for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to determine whether increasing temperature-controlled radiofrequency tissue ablation (TCRFTA) treatments provide incremental improvement in outcomes of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS).


METHODS
Twenty-six subjects randomized to TCRFTA treatment for mild to moderate OSAS were studied at baseline, 1 month after 3 tongue treatments (interim), and then 2 months after 2 additional tongue and palate treatments (final). Outcomes included OSA-specific quality of life (Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire [FOSQ] and Symptoms of Nocturnal Obstruction and Related Events [SNORE25]), daytime sleepiness, and reaction times (slowest, median, and fastest).


RESULTS
Interim outcomes were significantly better than baseline for FOSQ and SNORE25 (P < 0.05), with a trend toward improvement for sleepiness (P = 0.06). Final outcomes were significantly better than interim outcomes for FOSQ, sleepiness, slowest and median reaction time (all P < 0.05), and nonsignificantly improved for SNORE25 (P = 0.30) and fastest reaction time (P = 0.18). All final outcomes were improved from baseline (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Three TCRFTA tongue treatments significantly improved OSA-specific quality of life. An additional 2 TCRFTA tongue and palate treatment sessions further significantly improved quality of life and reaction times.
Steward
David L
DL
Department of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Ohio 45267-0528, USA. david.steward@uc.edu
Weaver
Edward M
EM
Woodson
B Tucker
BT
D000328:Adult; D004564:Electrocoagulation / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010160:Palate, Soft; D017286:Polysomnography; D011788:Quality of Life; D011930:Reaction Time; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000628:therapy*; D014059:Tongue; D016896:Treatment Outcome