Obstructive Sleep Dyspnea: Diagnosis and treatment

Abstract

Polysomnography was performed on obstructive sleep dyspnea patients before and after treatment. Based on the value of intraesophageal pressure, the grade of respiratory disturbance was classified in 4 groups; normal, slightly obstructed, moderately obstructed and highly obstructed. In general, as the grade advanced, more parameters showed abnormality, Trans-nasal continuous positive pressure (CPAP) was a useful diagnostic method to evaluate the severity of obstruction. During the past 7 years, polysomnography has been performed on 50 children and 62 adults who complained of sleep dyspnea. Only highly obstructed cases underwent surgery; intranasal corrective surgeries, adenotonsillectomy, sinusectomy, UPPP and any combination of these. Most of them had more than one cause. After surgery, all of them were satisfied, except for a few whose snores were not so loud even when we tested before surgery. Postoperative survey by inquiry sheets demonstrated that recovery of sound sleep and enough rest resulted in refreshing and active lives during daytime.

Key Words:

• polysomnography
• intraesophageal pressure
• CPAP
• snoring
• upper airway obstruction
• UPPP