A pilot study of quantitative aspiration in patients with symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea: comparison to a historic control group.
OBJECTIVE
It has been shown that many healthy people aspirate secretions at night. Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have frequent episodes of gasping at night that may predispose them to aspiration. The purpose of this study was to determine whether patients with symptoms of OSA are predisposed to pharyngeal aspiration.


METHODS
A prospective study in which patients with symptoms of OSA were compared with a historic group of normal controls by using the same methodology.


METHODS
The study was offered to patients with symptoms of OSA undergoing a sleep study. The radiotracer Technicium was infused through a plastic tube placed in the nasopharynx after the patient achieved stage II sleep. A chest radionuclide scan determined the amount of material aspirated. The Wilcoxon-rank sum test was used to compare the mean amount aspirated between the experimental and historic control groups.


RESULTS
Fourteen patients successfully completed the study. One normal volunteer in our study aspirated a quantity similar to the historic normal control group. The amount of aspirated material in the study group ranged from 0.152 to 3.648 mL, with a mean of 1.24 mL +/- 0.905 (SD). When compared with the historic normal control group, the patients with symptoms of OSA aspirated significantly more radio-tracer (P <.01). There was a lack of association between respiratory disturbance index and amount aspirated.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest there is an apparent risk of increased pharyngeal aspiration in patients with symptoms of OSA.
Beal
Michael
M
Department of Otolaryngology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, LA, USA.
Chesson
Andrew
A
Garcia
Thomas
T
Caldito
Gloria
G
Stucker
Fred
F
Nathan
Cherie-Ann
CO
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D001239:Inhalation / Q000502:physiology*; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D010614:Pharynx / Q000378:metabolism; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011015:Pneumonia, Aspiration / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013671:Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid
D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D013671:Technetium Tc 99m Sulfur Colloid