W. Vos, O. Vanderveken, J. De Backer, H. De Laet, J. Verbraecken, W. De Backer, P. Van de Heyning, M. Braem (Antwerp, Edegem, Belgium)
Previous studies have shown that drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) and functional imaging (FI) of the upper airway (UA), based on CT scans and updated with flow simulations, can both be used for patient selection in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
The objective is to assess correlation between FI and DISE before treatment concerning the recommendations for patient selection in a large set of OSA patients considered for oral appliance treatment (OAT).
77 patients (46±9 y, AHI = 18±15/h sleep, 61 males) underwent a DISE and a low dose CT scan, without and with a simulation bite simulating maximal comfortable protrusion (MCP) of the mandible. A 3-level scoring system was used for the interpretation of both methods.
There is no significant correlation between the results obtained with FI versus DISE. A similar score for both screening methods is found in 38% of patients. The high number of patients with intermediate DISE score is probably due to the complexity of UA collapse in OSA, but FI provides a recommendation for most of these patients.
Based on the results of this correlation study, it can be hypothesized that DISE combined with FI provides an additional value in predicting OAT success. In the next phase of the study this hypothesis will be tested.
