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Updated: Aug 24, 2026
Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy (DISE) with Target Controlled Infusion (TCI) and Bispectral Analysis in Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Published on: December 6, 2016
A comparison of radiofrequency treatment schemes for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome
David L Steward1, Edward M Weaver, B Tucker Woodson
1Department of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Ohio 45267-0528, USA. david.steward@uc.edu
Objectives:
We sought to determine whether increasing temperature-controlled radiofrequency tissue ablation (TCRFTA) treatments provide incremental improvement in outcomes of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS).
Methods:
Twenty-six subjects randomized to TCRFTA treatment for mild to moderate OSAS were studied at baseline, 1 month after 3 tongue treatments (interim), and then 2 months after 2 additional tongue and palate treatments (final). Outcomes included OSA-specific quality of life (Functional Outcomes of Sleep Questionnaire [FOSQ] and Symptoms of Nocturnal Obstruction and Related Events [SNORE25]), daytime sleepiness, and reaction times (slowest, median, and fastest).
Results:
Interim outcomes were significantly better than baseline for FOSQ and SNORE25 (P < 0.05), with a trend toward improvement for sleepiness (P = 0.06). Final outcomes were significantly better than interim outcomes for FOSQ, sleepiness, slowest and median reaction time (all P < 0.05), and nonsignificantly improved for SNORE25 (P = 0.30) and fastest reaction time (P = 0.18). All final outcomes were improved from baseline (P < 0.05).
Conclusions:
Three TCRFTA tongue treatments significantly improved OSA-specific quality of life. An additional 2 TCRFTA tongue and palate treatment sessions further significantly improved quality of life and reaction times.