The effect of obstructive sleep apnea surgery on laryngopharyngeal reflux with obstructive sleep apnea

Abstract

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may play a role in the occurrence of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). OSA surgery also may have a significant curative effect on LPR with OSA.

Objectives: To analyze the role of OSA in LPR and the effect of OSA surgery on LPR with OSA.

Methods: Forty-five OSA patients with LPR symptoms were enrolled and were divided into the LPR positive group (RSI > 13) and the LPR suspicious group (1?≤?RSI ≤ 13) based on reflux symptom index (RSI). All the patients underwent OSA surgery. The RSI scores at three different time points postoperatively were compared with that preoperatively.

Results: In the LPR positive and LPR suspicious group, the result revealed that there were significant differences in RSI score between one month, three months, six months after surgery and before surgery (p?<?.001 for all). Moreover, in the LPR positive group, there was a significant difference in RSI score among one month, three months and six months after surgery (p?=?.01).

Conclusions and significance: The effect of OSA on LPR exists and OSA surgery can improve the symptoms of LPR with OSA obviously. For some LPR patients with OSA, the combination therapy of OSA and LPR is needed.     

The efficacy of multilevel surgery of the upper airway in adults with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome

OBJECTIVE: Many patients with obstructive sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) are incapable of using continuous positive airway pressure. These patients therefore turn to surgical options as a salvage treatment. Early studies and reviews focused on the efficacy of uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, a single-level procedure for the treatment of OSAHS. Since OSAHS is usually caused by multilevel obstructions, the true focus on efficacy should be on multilevel surgical intervention. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the literature on multilevel surgery for OSAHS patients. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis focusing on subjective and objective outcomes of patients with OSAHS treated with multilevel surgery of the upper airway. METHODS: We searched PubMed, the Cochrane database, and MEDLINE bibliographic databases up to March 31, 2007, for studies dealing with multilevel surgical modification of the upper airway for the treatment of OSAHS. Additional studies were identified from their reference lists. Articles were included only if the surgical intervention involved at least two of the frequently involved anatomic sites: nose, oropharynx, and hypopharynx. RESULTS: After applying specific inclusion criteria, 49 multilevel surgery articles (58 groups) were identified. There were 1,978 patients included in the study. The mean minimal follow-up time was 7.3 months (range, 1 to 100 months). A meta-analysis was performed to redefine the success rate to be consistent with the commonly agreed upon criteria, namely "a reduction in the apnea/ hypopnea index (AHI) of 50% or more and an AHI of less than 20." "Success" implies an improved condition and is not meant to imply cure. The recalculated success rate was 66.4%. The overall complication rate was 14.6%. The evidence-base medicine (EBM) level of these 49 studies revealed that only one study was EBM level 1, two papers were EBM level 3, and the other 46 papers were ranked as level 4 evidence. CONCLUSIONS: Multilevel surgery for OSAHS is obviously associated with improved outcomes, although this benefit is supported largely by level 4 evidence. Future research should focus on prospective and controlled studies.     

Mood improvement after surgery for obstructive sleep apnea

OBJECTIVE: Patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may experience unfavorable psychologic symptoms such as depression and anxiety. The aim of this study was to confirm this hypothesis and to investigate whether the psychologic symptoms among OSA patients can be relieved by surgical intervention. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective, longitudinal intervention study. METHODS: The 5-Item Mental Health scale (MH-5) was used to evaluate the postoperative changes of mood after extended uvulopalatal flap (EUPF) surgery on 84 Taiwanese patients with OSA. The preoperative and postoperative MH-5 data obtained from these patients were compared with a Taiwanese population norm. RESULTS: Before surgery, the MH-5 scores of the OSA patients were significantly worse than the Taiwanese population norm of 72.8 (P <.0001). Postoperatively, mean MH-5 scores significantly increased from 61.8 +/- 16.0 to 70.0 +/- 15.8 (P =.0006). The effect size of this score change was 0.51, indicating a moderate degree of mood improvement. However, this score was still inferior to that of the population norm (P =.0045). The mood improvement was not significantly associated with the changes in either sleep apnea events or the level of sleepiness. Neither the changes in respiratory disturbance index (P =.4382), maximum arterial oxygen saturation (P =.4866), nor the change in Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores (P =.4951) were predictive of the MH-5 score improvement (R = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that patients with OSA had a higher level of anxiety, depression, and probable behavior or personality changes than the population norm. EUPF surgery could significantly improve the mood status among OSA patients; the effect of surgery was mild but clinically relevant. However, the extent of mood improvement experienced by OSA patients receiving operations may not simply be attributable to the changes in sleep apnea events or a reduced level of sleepiness.     

多平面手术治疗阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停低通气综合征的疗效观察

目的 探讨对三重平面阻塞的阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停低通气综合征(OSAHS) 患者同期行多平面手术治疗的疗效。方法 对68 例鼻腔、口咽、舌咽三重平面狭窄的OSAHS患者,采用保留悬雍垂的腭咽成形术(H-UPPP)、鼻腔结构重建及改良下颌骨舌骨悬吊术,对重度OSAHS患者术前经鼻持续正压通气治疗(CPAP)。结果 68例患者手术完成顺利,无死亡及其他严重并发症发生。多导睡眠监测(PSG)显示,术后6个月有效率100%,术后1年有效率95.55%。手术前、术后6个月、术后1年睡眠呼吸紊乱指数(AHI)及最低SaO2差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05);手术前、术后6个月、术后1年CT检查发现舌后区前后径减小,左右径增大,P<0.05,气道形态明显改善。结论 采用同期多平面手术对三重平面阻塞的OSAHS患者治疗有效,术后气道形状逐渐趋向正常人的气道形状,术前CPAP治疗可预防严重并发症发生。