Abstract
Objective: Previous studies showed that electrical stimulation of the hypoglossal nerve can improve obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This study aims to: 1) Learn whether upper airway stimulation has an effect on snoring in patients with moderate-to-severe OSA. 2) Learn whether there is a correlation between the reduction of snoring and obstructive respiratory events.
Method: Upper airway stimulation systems were implanted in moderate-to-severe OSA patients (inclusion criteria: CPAP failure or intolerance, BMI <32, without complete concentric collapse during drug-induced-sleep-endoscopy). Apnea-hypopnea-index (polysomnography) and snoring (5-level categories by bed-partner: no, soft, loud, very intense, intolerable by bed partner) were collected at pre-implant and 2, 4, and 6 months post-implant.
Results: Nine subjects were implanted, and all have completed month 6 visit. All 9 subjects reported loud or very intense snoring at pre-implant. At the last visit, 4 subjects reduced from loud to no snoring, 4 subjects reduced from loud to soft snoring, and 1 subject reported no change. Reports from bed-partners were similar. The average AHI among the 9 subjects reduced from 39.4 ± 9.3 (mean ± SD) to 16.7 ± 21.7 (P < .05).
Conclusion: Preliminary findings suggest that upper airway stimulation improves snoring along with the improvement of sleep disordered breathing in patients with moderate-to-severe OSA.
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