Morphological examination of upper airway in obstructive sleep apnea.
OBJECTIVE
An aim of this study was to assess the predictive power of an otorhinolaryngological examination of the upper airway to identify risk factors of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in the patients.


METHODS
We examined 141 consecutive patients with OSAS. The morphological features were assessed by the designated otorhinolaryngologist while the subjects were sitting relaxedly with tidal breathing. The bilateral nasal resistance was measured using the active anterior rhinomanometry during daytime wakefulness.


RESULTS
The body mass index (BMI), fauces's narrowness, neck circumference, lowest oxygen saturation, tonsil size and modified Mallampati grade (MMP) showed the statistically significant correlations with the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of an index of apnoeseverity, however, the age, Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS), nasal resistance and retroglossal space were not significantly associated with the AHI.


CONCLUSIONS
The upper airway morphology significantly associated with AHI are fauces's narrowness, tonsil size, and MMP, but not nasal resistance and retroglossal space.
Yagi
Hidehito
H
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, 65 Tsurumai, Showa, Nagoya, Aichi 466-8550, Japan. h-yagi@city.inazawa.aichi.jp
Nakata
Seiichi
S
Tsuge
Hayato
H
Yasuma
Fumihiko
F
Noda
Akiko
A
Morinaga
Mami
M
Tagaya
Mitsuhiko
M
Nakashima
Tsutomu
T
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001049:Apnea / Q000503:physiopathology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009929:Organ Size; D010036:Otolaryngology / Q000379:methods; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D014066:Palatine Tonsil / Q000473:pathology; D017286:Polysomnography; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000473:pathology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012891:Sleep Apnea Syndromes / Q000503:physiopathology; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012894:Sleep Stages; D055815:Young Adult
D010100:Oxygen