title: Is there any relationship between nCPAP therapy and signs of sinus hyperpneumatization?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Both nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) therapy and nose blowing can generate high pressures in the nose and sinuses. Nose blowing generates higher pressures than nCPAP therapy, but the duration of nCPAP therapy is considerably longer than the duration of nose blowing. Therefore, nCPAP could cause bone deformation. The aim of this study was to document the influence of the pressure generated by nCPAP therapy on the structure and dimensions of the sinuses and on the nose-blowing patterns of the patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included nine patients, who had recently been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and had not received any previous treatment for OSAS. Before nCPAP therapy was started, they all underwent computer tomography (CT) in the prone position with sequential coronal slices followed by pressure measurements during nose blowing. After the initial measurements, nCPAP therapy commenced. All of the patients were treated with a fixed-pressure device and nasal mask for 6 mo. nCPAP therapy compliance was checked after 6 mo. At the end of the 6 mo treatment with nCPAP, coronal CT scans of the sinuses and pressure measurements during nose blowing were repeated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although CPAP therapy provides continuous positive pressure for several hours at night, bone structure and sinus dimensions appeared to be unchanged after 6 mo of therapy. However, CPAP therapy seemed to have an effect on the nose-blowing pattern of the patients, with a significant decrease in nose blowing pressure after 6 mo of CPAP treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pneumology, Center for Outcomes Research and Laboratory for Experimental Surgery, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel (UZB), Brussels, Belgium. sonia.deweerdt@uzbrussel.be
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Weerdt
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Haentjens
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Van Binst
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Baron
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Clement
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Vincken
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000403:Airway Resistance / Q000502:physiology*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D045422:Continuous Positive Airway Pressure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010256:Paranasal Sinuses / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011859:Radiography; D025363:Rhinomanometry; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D012912:Sneezing / Q000502:physiology