The value of drug-induced sleep computed tomography in diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: a pilot study

Abstract

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a public health problem that affects a large amount of people. Surgery sometimes is considered a better treatment modality that does not require the use of a device such as CPAP.

Objectives: To explore the value of anesthetic-induced sleep computed tomography (DI-SCT) in the diagnosis of OSAS.

Materials and methods: A total of 124 patients with OSAS aged between 18 and 65 years old were enrolled in this study. The upper airway was scanned by computed tomography (CT) while they were wake and went sleep. Sleep was induced by dexmedetomidine under electrocardiograph and oxyhemoglobin saturation monitoring. Parameters relevant to OSAS were then collected and counted.

Results: CT scanning revealed that 119 occurred stenosis in oropharynx, in which 5 cases were accompanied with stenosis or occlusion at retroglossal area. About 38 (30.67%) cases existed deviation of nasal septum with retropalatal problems. About 61.33% of patients had multi-level obstructions and the most common obstructive site was oropharynx (90.67%).

Conclusions and significance: DI-SCT is a safe and non-invasive modality for diagnosing the obstructive sites in OSAS patients.

背景：阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停综合征（OSAS）是一种影响大量人群的公共健康问题。手术有时被认为是一种更好的治疗方式。它不需要使用CPAP等设备。

目的：探讨麻醉诱导睡眠计算机断层扫描（DI-SCT）在OSAS诊断中的价值。

材料和方法：共有124名年龄在18至65岁之间的OSAS患者参与了本研究。在他们醒着并进入睡眠状态时用计算机断层扫描（CT）扫描上呼吸道。在心电图仪和氧合血红蛋白饱和度监测下, 用右美托咪定诱导睡眠。然后收集并计算与OSAS相关的参数。

结果：CT扫描显示119例口咽部狭窄, 其中5例伴有闭合舌侧狭窄或闭塞。大约38例（30.67％）患者存在鼻中隔偏曲与软腭后问题。约61.33％的患者有多级阻塞, 最常见的阻塞部位是口咽部（90.67％）。

结论和意义：DI-SCT是一种安全无创的方法, 用于诊断OSAS患者的阻塞部位。

Keywords:

• Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS)
• dexmedetomidine
• sleep phase CT

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.